The Tiger Inn, Eastbourne

The Tiger Inn is located in the village of East Dean which is just off the A259 at the edge of the borough of Eastbourne. The area is very popular with walkers and cyclists due to adjacent South Downs and I’m sure that many a rambler has come across this idyllic village green pub and thought ‘wow, that’s just what the doctor ordered’. Unsurprisingly it is a very busy place on a hot summer’s day and the picnic tables outside the front are occupied very quickly and the paved beer garden to the side of the pub fills up equally as fast. Not to worry though as most people sit on the large green on their blankets whilst knocking back some Beachyhead ale. Being the Beachyhead Brewery Tap two of their ales were available in the form of Legless Rambler and Original. Obviously with this being East Sussex Harveys Best was also available and there was a limited draught selection of Stella, Becks, Guinness and Stowford Press cider. Food is served and the mains come in at around the £10 mark with kitchen opening hours of midday until 15:00 and 18:00 until 21:00. My visit commenced at 14:45 on a recent hot Sunday afternoon and the queue for the bar was coming out of the front door as the two barmen struggled to keep their cool. Thankfully my next visit half an hour later was much quicker as the kitchen had closed for the afternoon. Maybe at busier times some thought could be put into separating people ordering food and others just ordering drinks. The pub itself is split into two with a dining area through a door to the left and the bar through the door on the right, mind your head. The bar area is pretty much what one would expect with an inglenook, low beams and chalk boards giving food prices up on the walls, but it was much smaller than I expected from the outside. To the right of the bar there is a seating area with doors that open up onto the aforementioned paved beer garden. Bed and Breakfast is available and there are some holiday cottages to the left of the pub. I’m not so sure that I would have been so impressed with this place if I had visited on a cold and windy January evening, but I really enjoyed my visit here and will return when the next wave of clement weather arrives.

My first visit to a real English pub when we came over to the UK in 2003. A nice warm Autumn afternoon friendly locals, I struck up a conversation with a motorcyclist and enjoyed a pint or two. This little pub was so unreal and after 36 hours travelling I could not believe what I was seeing. Kiwis should get into this laid back social way of enjoying a Sunday Arvo, it was not about sculling large amounts of ale but enjoying the whole atmosphere of being. We will return this Nov 2011 albeit into the Eglish winter, roll on Nov