The Plough, Battle

Very attractive pub of the country dining variety, just about attached to the southern end of the small village of Crowhurst, and very prominent if approaching from the Hastings direction (but much less so if coming from the station). Opened-out at some stage to leave a L-shaped interior, with almost all tables laid up on a Sunday lunchtime for those eating, but there were a few people around the bar just having a drink. However, on an implausibly warm October day, a seat out in the sun on the sloping, split-level front beer garden was my preferred spot. Just Long Man's Best Bitter (£5.40) available from the four handpumps, with a reversed London Pride clip also noted.

Official site of The Plough - www.theploughcrowhurst.co.uk

Official site of The Plough - www.theploughcrowhurst.co.uk

The village of Crowhust (not to be confused with the Sussex town of Crowborough) has just this one village pub, which is nestled on a bank with a large garden to the front and further outdoor seating to the right-hand side. Roughly half of the pub's late Friday afternoon customers were enjoying the sun outside, with the other half in the inverted L-shape interior. The pub was clean and in a nice condition, but the real ale selection was lacking. Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter & Long Man Best Bitter was the rather unadventurous choice, with no sign of a guest ale. Even the 2 for 1 offer on cocktails on Friday and Sunday evenings was sounding quite appealing. Nice location and friendly barmaid, but very little else to recommend this one.

Dating from circa 1805 the Plough Inn is a freehouse located on a winding lane in the small rural village of Crowhurst. The building is set back from the lane by a beer garden that slopes up to the pub entrance. The beer garden consists of a small lawn outside the pub that leads to some steps down to a pebbled seating area. At the rear of the pub is a small car park. The bar of this pub faces the entrance and there is a seating area with log burner to the right where access can be gained to the cloakrooms. Down the left side of the bar is an inglenook with open fire and there is a dining type area at the rear that I had no reason to inspect. Available from the bar during my recent Friday afternoon visit were Fosters, Stella, Kronenburg, Birra Moretti, Guinness and Aspalls Cider. One of the five hand pumps was off leaving Harveys Best, Hop Fuzz Brewery’s English Bitter, Long Man’s Best and Old Dairy IPA as the cask ale options. I didn’t spot a television, but there was some low classical music playing in the background. Live music has been held here, but it is not a regular occurrence. I found the service to be very friendly and I enjoyed my visit, but alas the remote location of this pub means that I will probably not visit again. The bar is open: Mon - Tue 17:00 to 23:00; Thurs – Sat 12:00 to 23:00; Sun 12:00 to 22:00. The kitchen is open: Wed – Fri 12:00 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 21:00; Sat 12:00 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 21:00; Sun 12:00 to 16:00. Booking is advisable.