The Cricketers Arms

A Grade II listed flintstone pub in beautiful cottage gardens close to many popular walks, not least the South Downs Way running along the crest of the chalk scarp between here and the sea. In the 16th century it was two farmworkers' cottages, then an alehouse for 200 years, until around 50 years ago Harveys of Lewes, Sussex's oldest brewery, bought it and turned it into a 'proper' pub. Three beamed, music-free rooms with stone floors and open fires are simply furnished with old pine furniture. A short menu of home-made food includes crispy whitebait, and houmous and pitta bread starters. Steak and ale pie is an ever-popular main course, as are cod in beer-batter, and pork and herb sausages with free-range egg and chunky chips. Nearby is Charleston Farmhouse, the country rendezvous of the Bloomsbury Group of writers, painters and intellectuals, and venue for an annual literary festival.