The Eight Bells, Polegate

Nice old pub, tucked away in a quiet dry valley through the South Downs, and understandably very much a dining place these. The refurbished staple-shaped layout perhaps looks more modern than the traditional exterior might lead you to expect, but it is pleasant enough and the south-facing windows let in plenty of light during the day. Harvey's, the very local Long Man Best Bitter plus Gun Brewery's Scaramanga and Lakedown's Fireball red ale (£5.00) from elsewhere in East Sussex complete the line-up on the four handpumps.

Official site of The Eight Bells - eightbellsjevington.com

Official site of The Eight Bells - eightbellsjevington.com

The Eight Bells is a U shaped pub in the heart of horseracing country so the walls are adorned with an assortment of all things equestrian. A limited standard draught range is available alongside Leffe and the bar supports four hand pumps. One of these was unused leaving Landlord, Broadside and Harvey’s Best as the ale options. Food is served during lunch and early evening periods and the mains are priced around the £10 mark. This is one of the more pub like venues in rural Polegate and the large inglenook around to the right of the bar adds a nice touch. There is a quiz every Tuesday evening and live music was advertised for the last Saturday of this month so it is not a regular occurrence. There is no television, but some background music was playing. There is a car park to the left of the building which probably gets very full during the summer so parking may be a problem at busy times. There is a tiered beer garden at the rear that is split up with hedges and trees with lovely views of the downs and grazing horses. My only complaint would be that many of the tables had dirty plates on them and no attempt was made to clean them during my forty-five minute stay on Monday. I could understand if the pub was heaving and staff had failed to show, but it really wasn’t that busy. That said the two people on duty were polite and friendly. All things taken into account I found this place to be pleasant and I wouldn’t be upset if I found myself in here again. There is even a bus stop directly outside, but I’m not sure how regularly the public transport graces this area with its presence.