The Alma Arms, Uckfield

This is a nice two bar Harvey's pub, around 5-10 minutes walk out away from the town centre from the station. On approach, the pub’s windows really catch the eye, thanks to some nice etched glass panes denoting public and saloon bars. However, upon entering, you quickly realise that both rooms are now connected, as the entrance area has been opened out a little, presenting you with a nice curved servery whereby a quarter circle of bar counter serves each side of the pub. The bar has a nice dark wood counter with an attractive matching bar back and doesn’t seem to have suffered too badly from the opening out of the room. The public bar is relatively small, with limited seating around the perimeter and all the local’s opting to sit at the bar instead. The saloon bar, on the other hand, is carpeted and full of tables and chairs, making it an obvious place to eat, although no-one was doing so when we visited. The pub extends a surprisingly long way to the rear, where a function room can be found, although this was hosting a kids party when we arrived, so I didn’t get a good look at it.passing through the car park, you reach a beer garden to the rear - essentially a small patio area with round picnic tables and a kids climbing frame. There were three Harvery’s ales on the bar - Armada Ale, Sussex Best and Wharf IPA, whilst a real cider occupied the remaining handpull. I gave the Wharf IPA a try and found the beer to be in good condition, although perhaps not the most interesting version of this beer style you’re likely to find. Service was friendly and there was a modest weekend afternoon crowd, mostly enjoying the sun out in the garden. I liked this place and thought it was a decent example of a Harveys pub, perhaps not having the ‘wow’ factor of some of their more well-known houses, but still offering a good environment to settle down over some well-kept ale. In a town with only a few pub options, this one is worth making the walk to check it out.

Official site of The Alma Arms - www.almaarmsuckfield.co.uk

Official site of The Alma Arms - www.almaarmsuckfield.co.uk

The Alma is a back street local’s boozer with a seating area to the right of the entrance and a compact bar to the left that was populated with a handful of locals who were propping up the bar during a recent Saturday afternoon visit. In the thin bar area I spied some more seating at the rear beyond a dartboard and bar billiards table. There was some background music playing from the jukebox and the muted TV was airing football results. I counted five hand pumps that were drawing Weston’s Rosie’s Pig cider alongside four offerings from Harveys Brewery who run this pub. I didn’t see any food advertised, but this does not mean that food is unavailable. Out the back is a paved beer garden with round picnic tables that come complete with umbrellas. There is also a car park. I found the barman to be polite and the locals harmless enough. If I lived locally I would use this pub.

This is a long standing Harvey's pub that has been a GBG regular for donkey's years. The last time I came here was in the nineties when the then tenant saw fit to close up at 14:30 every day of the week including weekends. Happily it has now moved into modern times as I found it open around 15:00 on a Saturday afternoon. Inside it's a single room with a central bar but clearly the left side was once the public bar and the saloon on the right. The public side has wooden floors and the saloon is carpeted with some sort of function room behind some sliding doors. I noticed the public bar had bar billiards and darts. The bar has two sets of hand pumps but there were four Harvey's beers and Rosie's Pig Cider. The Harvey's beers were the relatively rare Sussex Dark Mild, WIld Hop, Best and Olympia available soon. I tried the Mild (£3.05) and the Wild Hop (£3.10) both of which were in excellent nick. Harvey's pubs do tend to be good and this is no exception, probably one of the better ones. It's an excellent old school local boozer.