East Sussex Guide: Spend a Weekend in Bloomsbury-in-the-Countryside, With Cliff Walks, English Vineyards, and Art

On the high street of medieval Alfriston, which sits alongside the Cuckmere River, The Star’s village location is useful for first-time visitors. The ballyhooed local bookstore, Much Ado Books, is a few minutes away on foot, as is the village shop (stock up on Sussex Crisps) and the Singing Kettle Teahouse, which is ordinarily packed with walkers sitting down to wedges of lemon drizzle. The charismatic pub in the front room of The Star has an open fire and a reliable Anglo-Italian menu, and the rooms upstairs are spotless.

Where to Eat

Book Sunday lunch at The Ram Inn, the village pub in Firle. Then, if you’re staying in Alfriston at one of the places above, consider walking there via the South Downs Way, over the ridge, with the English Channel on your left and the Sussex Weald on your right (it will take around 2 hours). A Sunday roast with all the trimmings (Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese, greens, gravy, roasted and mashed potatoes) will spur you on. There are a handful of bedrooms above the pub too, which is a stone’s throw from the hiking trails.

This micro-brewery on an industrial estate near Lewes, overlooked by chalk hills, has a rotating roster of food trucks on the weekends. Come for the hoppy pale ales (the Parade is the fruity crowd-pleaser to start with), stay for the California-style smash burgers from Chuckaburger and the mezze boxes from Kabak.

Directly next store to Beak Brewery, Pharmacie roasts its beans on site. There are tables in the front of the warehouse where you can sit down with your sixth-wave flat white and nibble one of the puck-sized cookies for sale by the register. The coffee is typically single origin, and beans are available to buy in both espresso and filter roasts.