Eight Bells

Authentic place with superdelicious food. Sunday beef roast was amazing. It’s a pity they serve only filtered coffee, but they have a vast choice of other drinks, and a smile to cheer you up. The summer terrace looks good, but was busy, so we could not check out. On the other hand, interior is was nice and cosy to sit in. Certainly recommend to visit it if you happen to walk past.

A nice old pub in this small downland village, with an extensive beer garden serving real ale and food.
The pub itself is what you’d expect of a village pub — lots of beams, traditional furniture, in a two-​room pub with a central bar area. They have four handpumps but were serving three beers on my visit — Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter, Adnams Broadside and Youngs Gold. The beer seemed reasonably well kept and customers were certainly buying plenty of it, which is a good sign.
They have an extensive food menu, but prices are more like those at restaurants than a pub: starters from £4.70, mains from £8.50 (veggie) or £9.50 (meat or fish) and puddings from £4.70. I’ve heard mixed experiences of the food — some say it’s OK, but overpriced.
The clientele certainly seem very well heeled, judging by the cars parked in the car park, and one of the barmaids was a bit sniffy about me coming in looking a bit sweaty after a long hot walk, which is odd as they’re close to the meeting of several major long-​distance footpaths. The other, in contrast, was very friendly to a couple looking for a campsite for the night.
The pub is well known and does get very busy on nice sunny days.