Seven Sisters to Seaford

Exploring westwards from Eastbourne we planned to walk along a section of one of the UK coastal highlights atop the Seven Sisters cliffs.
Typically, the blue sky and sunshine disappeared as soon as we set out to do so, grey clouds descending.
Would we stay dry?
Would the dog manage 7.9 miles?
Would there be a decent pint at the end?

The Coaster 13X bus took us from our Eastbourne base to Birling Gap, home of some clifftop cottages, a visitor centre, and lots of day-trippers in kagools.

A staircase at Birling Gap provides the opportunity to descend to the pebbles and grab a photo from beneath the cliffs rather than on top of 'em.  Then we were on our way, up a track past a few remote holiday huts, a gate taking us out onto the open expanse of grassy clifftops.

German football fans with stickers really do get everywhere, don't they?

The path is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, some steeper than others, with a constant wow factor of the views ahead.
Enhanced by the welcome appearance of a bit of sunshine on the white cliffs...

We were determined to do this walk whatever the weather but, to be honest, the exposed nature of the path would have made it a bit of a slog had we encountered anything worse than the bit of drizzle at the start.
There's a steep descent at Cuckmere Beach taking us to the uncomfortable trudge over the pebbles. 

The Cuckmere River snakes its way to the sea with no bridge - to reach that you need to add an extra mile-and-a-half to the route to wander inland to Exceat.
We joined many other folks unlacing footwear and rolling up trouser legs to wade across the water. 

Cripes, it was cold.
And not a day to lounge on the beach waiting for wet feet to dry.

After tackling the next series of clifftop ups and downs, we dropped down for a final time, past the golf course and onto the promenade at the top of Seaford beach.  This is a very sedate esplanade, not one for fans of amusement arcades and tacky beach shops - even the ice cream shack was closed. 
We headed inland to the town centre in search of the two Good Beer Guide listed pubs...

Old Boot Inn (16 South Street, Seaford, BN25 1PE)
This didn't look especially inviting, what with the missing a "boot" on the signage and the somewhat gloomy rooms in that part of the pub resembling the recesses of the most miserable Wetherspoons.  It transpires that a second entrance from the other side is much nicer, signage without missing words, leading you to the bright and busy main room.
The Old Boot has what I consider a proper pub carpet...

There were 'reserved' signs throughout, but arriving at the tail-end of lunch after our walking exploits enabled us to grab a table whose original occupants had already been and gone.  I ordered a very welcome pint of local Gun 'Project Babylon Pale Ale'.

We stuck around for a superb plate of food and another ale in the form of Harvey's 'Sussex Best'.  Good beer, good grub, warm and welcoming atmosphere.  And opting to settle her for a while and eat gave the dog an extended doze under the table - out like a light after those 7-miles.

We eventually declared it was time to move and see what else Seaford had to offer, although we didn't end up going far.
From an Old Boot to an Old Plough...

The Old Plough (20 Church Street, Seaford, BN25 1HG)
We didn't especially plan to call in here, but it promised cask ale, had a nice bit of flint walling, and a very colourful Easter chalkboard with a well-drawn bunny.  I'm not going back for the clairvoyant in May, though.
The cask range offered some big well-known brands and the local Long Man from Littlington.

The Old Plough has origins as a 16th century coaching inn, pictures showing that it hasn't changed much externally in the past 100 years.  It's had a modern spruce-up inside though, extensively refurbished in 2016.  It's now a Stonegate pub, part of their 'Heritage Inns' offshoot.

Not sure what I think of the lighting, but the lounge-like back room with comfy leather-cushioned benches provided a decent table, where I enjoyed a quite acceptable NBSS 3 'Long Blonde'.

Moving on, we made our way to the town railway station which handily houses a Beer Guide pub.

 

Steamworks (Cafe Unit, Seaford Station, Station Approach, Seaford, BN25 2AR)
This cosy two-roomer was opened in 2017 in part of the original station buildings, providing a fine reason to arrive early for your train.  The 8am opening time is presumably for coffee and croissant rather than pints of Grolsh.

No space for pesky handpumps on the counter which is dominated by a hot food display and cake stands.  You need to test your eyesight to peruse the pump clips on the back bar next to the Brighton & Hove Albion shirts and scarves.
With a choice of four real ales, I picked another brew from Long Man, this time their Best Bitter.

The arrival of the Brighton train caused a bit of an exodus and enabled us to get a table amongst the remaining book readers and coffee drinkers. 
Checking bus times for our journey back, I had time for the keg Long Man 'NEIPA', probably more satisfying on this occasion that the so-so cask I'd picked.

As we caught our bus, I wondered if we had managed to wear the dog out...

Yep, I think so.

Three pubs, five beers, only one Harvey's?
Let's put that right on arrival back in Eastbourne.

Marine (61 Seaside, Eastbourne, BN22 7NE)
This pub was first recorded as being the Marine Tavern in 1890.  It's set on two levels, with the front section resembling a hotel lounge with sofas, armchairs and coffee tables.  Maroon carpeting and fabric throughout, wood panelling, and maritime decorations - this was a very satisfying unspoilt pub.
A solid cask line-up of Pride, Tribute and Sussex Best.  

The Harvey's 'Sussex Best' was in cracking condition - best pint of the day and worthy of the impressive beer scores that the Marine gets on the CAMRA website, without seeming to warrant a place in the Beer Guide.

After a day of buses, walking and imbibing, it was time to return to our lodgings and call it a night.  A railway pub tick, a fine pint of Harvey's, and (part of) one of the UKs best short walks, all made for a successful day out in my book.

Eastbourne Pub Explorations

A debut for me in the Sussex coastal town of Eastbourne, which was to be our base for a few days of the Easter hols, offering some clifftop walks and a pub visit or two.
Arriving at lunchtime, we made the most of the un-forecast sunshine & blue skies.  A stroll along the promenade, a bite to eat from one of the street food stalls, an amble out onto the pier to take in the sea air.

We had a plan that would make a side-street bottle shop our fist port of call, but we're easily diverted.  All it took took a sign saying "Craft Beer - Microbrewery" and we were adding a new venue to the itinerary and venturing into the Belgian café.

Belgian Café (11-23 Grand Parade, Eastbourne, BN21 3YN)
This is the official taproom of the BeerMe Brewery.  It's a 'hidden gem' for beer afficionados and seafood lovers, according to their website.  Which is a bit odd as they're in a prominent location opposite the pier with a big sign outside. 'Hidden' like Oxford's Turf Tavern, I guess.
Beer Me is the creation of French ex-pats Greg Corona & Stephane Larruat who moved to this Eastbourne seafront location in 2008.  Finding it was an expensive business importing the Belgian brews, they learnt how to do it themselves and unleashed their own creations in 2014.

I wanted something dark, so came away from the bar with a 5.25% 'Noaty Stout'.  A bit on the thin side, but packing some coffee and smoky grain flavours.  Then went back for the foolhardy 'Belgian Triple', a herbal beast which has had star anis, black pepper, coriander, cloves and orange pee added to the brew.

   

Okay, so the beers we tried were Sussex cover versions of Belgian classics which don't reach the same heady heights as the originals, but this is an ambitious brewery well worth seeking out.  We sat under a size-distorting mirrored wall next to a small stage with singer-songwriter entertainment advertised for later in the day, whilst most folks seemed to be dipping into a seafood and burger orientated menu.

Right, let's move on to what was supposed to be the first stop of the day. 
Belgian-style brews followed by craft ale - Mrs PropUptheBar was being spoilt.  Although I was confident we'd find a line-up of boring brown bitters that she'd turn her nose up at before too long.

Beerarama (7B Bolton Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3JU)
The Venus Bar stood on this site from 2014-18 before Beerarama opened in 2022, providing a fantastically colourful bit of signage and a venue for 75% of the town's Untappd check-ins.  It crept into the 2025 Good Beer Guide controversially without handpumps.  "Ask which of the lines is serving real ale from key kegs"...or, y'know...don't.
Those lines were pouring beers from Unbarred, Gun, Burning Sky and Beak on our visit.  The Beak 'Rays' for me: a 6%ABV murky, tangy, tropical fruit IPA brewed nearby in Lewes.

Beerarama had a superb female-fronted rock/grunge/punk soundtrack featuring Mannequin Pussy, Die Spitz, Sleater Kinny, and Priests - I thoroughly approved.
Mrs PropUptheBar weighed down her bag with a couple of stupidly strong cans from the extensive selection in the fridges, then we were off.

I made a quick pitstop in the 'Spoons which is a regular in the Beer Guide.

The London & County (46 Terminus Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3LX)
This building dates back to 1880 and was originally the former London & County Bank.  In a very bank-like way, the ceiling is high, columns support the ceiling, and big windows let the light in to a rectangular ground floor room.  There was a decent crowd in - of the more refined and less rowdy Spoons variety - most of the tables occupied both downstairs and in the additional upstairs bar.

I picked the local Burning Sky 'Aurora' from a cask selection which included Theakston 'XB'. and Titanic 'Plum Porter' alongside the regulars.  A resinous, chewy, and fruity IPA, kept well and served in good condition. 

Reaching check-in time, we took time-out to unload our bags into our ApartHotel on the western side of town, then made the 15-minute walk inland to the 'Old Town' bit of Eastbourne.

The Crown (22 Crown Street, Old Town, Eastbourne, BN21 1PB)
An Easter Beer Festival was underway at the Crown, which isn't ideal for anyone on a pub research trip.  We ran the risk of our plans stalling here, roped into a list of beers we wanted to try from the A5 programme.
Pick something sensible, I was instructed when heading to the bar. 
Strangely, the 6% Eyam Brewery 'Black Death' was not considered 'sensible'.

The pub was super-busy, although we scored a couple of stools in a corner that was due to act as stage for live music later in the evening.  Busy was great for the pub.  But it was hot and stuffy.  Not that that stopped us from sticking around a little longer and trying the Three Acres 'Sussex Mild' and the oddly-named Route 21 'Not Necessarily In The Right Order', both enjoyable beers served on gravity direct from the barrels.

Right, I can't come to East Sussex without partaking in a pint of Harvey's.
And I can't partake in a pint of Harvey's without including a glorious picture of it on the blog...

I needn't have worried on that front - we were going to encounter LOTS of Harvey's beers throughout the next couple of days.
The first one, from the picture above, was found in the historic Lamb Inn...

Lamb Inn (6 High Street, Old Town, Eastbourne, BN21 1HH)
Our plans to eat in the Lamb were scuppered by all tables being booked, so we made do foraging the shelves of Waitrose a couple of doors down the road before heading into the pub.
The Lamb is a superb old inn, perhaps deserving of a place on the nation's 'oldest pubs' list as the cellars have apparently been dated to 1180.
And they've got an ancient 18-meter deep well...

"Press the button to turn on the lights."
I'm rather grateful for the cover over the top of it - Belgian-style beer induced tumbling down the well would make for exciting blog material, but 18 meters is an awful long way down.

With a Harvey's foursome of 'Best', 'Old Ale', 'Georgian Dragon' and 'Armada' on offer, I picked the Armada, their dry-hopped bitter.  And took this to a spot on a bench in a bustling wooden-beamed traditional pub room.

More Harvey's?
Heck why not?  For a final pint of the evening of the local brew, we trekked a little further inland to the excitingly-named suburb of Ocklynge. 

Hurst Arms (76 Willingdon Road, Ocklynge, Eastbourne, BN21 1TW)
The Hurst Arms was a classic street corner pub with impressive gables. Stepping through the door, we found ourselves in the public bar with 50p-a-game pool table to one side, handpumps on the counter including a home-made 'Easter Ale' clip.
They've put the effort in with three colours of felt-tip pen, so I felt I should really go for that one.

Online opinions about the Hurst Arms seemed divided:
"Only go here if you are over 60 and want to sit in someone's front room," says Google local guide James.  "Great selection of real ales and a friendly welcome and atmosphere," says another Google local guide Nigel.
On this occasion I reckon Nigel is right (plus, I quite like a pub where you feel like you're sitting in someone's front room).

With all seats taken and a rowdy atmosphere in the public bar, we took drinks to the more relaxed environs of the  lounge, where I can imagine the 'over 60' estimation is a bit nearer the mark.
The 'Easter Ale' was wonderful, but certainly packed a punch.

It should have been the last beer of the evening but I was forced (well, obediently ushered) into craft bar Ninkaci, located in repurposed railway buildings back in the heart of Eastbourne.  Another good venue, although the crafty draft beers on offer were of the recognisable national variety compared to those we'd found in Beerarama earlier. 

With that we called it a night.  I think we'd done fairly well for a varied selection of the town's drinking establishments.  And we required some decent rest in order to tackle a walk over the cliffs the next day.

Littlehampton to Worthing

I do confess that I didn't have Worthing down as being quite such a big place - big enough to have east, west and central train stations.
Add in the almost continuous suburbia that stretches into neighbouring East Preston and Littlehampton and this is a significantly built-up bit of Sussex coast.

Great for fans of railway level crossings, kiteboarding, and micro pubs.

We set out westbound from our Worthing base to explore a little further afield.  This started with a walk along the promenade until the wicked gusty winds got the better of us and we ducked inland at Goring to catch a bus to Littlehampton.

Littlehampton didn't immediately win me over when hopping off the bus.

Not even with someone's enthusiastic knitting adorning the trees and wooden benches on the pedestrianised main shopping street.

The town is home to just over 27,500 people who get to enjoy award winning beaches, three chip shops, a dozen pubs, a town museum, and a miniature railway.
The arcade was looking good...

Although it is remarkably missing a unit converted into a micropub.

Probably for the best, as Mrs PropUptheBar was sensibly insisting out first point of call should include a proper plate of food.  Which is how we came to be in the White Hart.

The White Hart (32 Surrey Street, Littlehampton, BN17 5BH)
The CAMRA website doesn't provide a wealth of information in this instance.  Here's the entry in full:
"This pub has double bow fronted windows. It was originally called the Cob and Pen."

Well, I do like a double bow fronted window, even if I'm not so keen on Wainwright or Hobgoblin beer served in those dreadful glasses with a dimple three quarters of the way down.

There were a real cross-section of folks in this sizable open-plan pub - couples eating, Carling-drinking blokes, kids on roller skates (our choice of table was notably as far away from them as possible), locals with carrier bags sat under a TV displaying a 'there is a technical fault' blue screen.  The seating by the fireplace looked comfy; the rear section was dominated by two pool tables; there was a nagging sense that you could somehow rearrange the furniture in a more effective way.

The 'Hobgoblin' was passable, whilst a hefty plate of home-cooked food filled us up nicely, 
With an empty glass and spotless plate in front of me, I whisked myself away for the quick diversion into Wetherspoon's a couple of doors along the road.
Not my best pub picture...

The George Inn  (14-18 Surrey Street, Littlehampton, BN17 5BG)
This was predictably busy, highlighting the challenge that the White Hart faces when trying to tempt people in when they're fifty meters from the familiar menu, meal deals and cheap drinks of Spoons.
£2.99 a pint for my pick of one of the guest beers: 'Cuckoo', a 4.3% amber ale from Mauldons in Suffolk.  Not the cheapest end of the JDW pricing scale and I don't think I ever did get any CAMRA 50p vouchers last year. Never mind, I'd have left them on the bookshelf at home anyway.

Nothing exciting happened in my short time in The George, an unremarkable L-shaped pub that looks exactly like you knew it would without having to actually step inside.

Littlehampton reveals its charms when you reach the harbour on the River Arun.  
Okay, perhaps not the quirky decorations on this particular house... 

Nearby, there are gulls circling holidaymaker fish and chips, an amusement park, and a lovely green area between the majestic whitewashed apartments of South Terrace and the pebbled beach.
The grey skies are defeating the blue over the boats in the harbour...

Stretching along the seafront is 'the longest bench' providing some practical seating and wackier art installation moments.  It's great.

Littlehampton's current Beer Guide listed pub is a short walk out the town centre, but perfectly placed just a few strides inland from the East Beach Green, café and pitch & putt.

The New Inn (5 Norfolk Road, Littlehampton, BN17 5PL)
"Home is where the heart is" states the pub's website.
Or, in Mrs PropUptheBar's case, where you can hang your wet socks by the fireplace.  Beach incident involving trying to coax the dog into the water and an unexpectedly big wave.  No sympathy required.

The front room consisted the main bar counter and L-shaped seating areas, with a snug and a pool table to the rear.
I picked the Bowman 'Swift One' - a golden quaffing ale (the brewery's description, not mine) - served on good form and...erm...quaffable.

We were completely out of sync with bus times, finishing the Bowman beer 28-minutes before the next bus to the shopping parade at Rustington.
As it was only 30-minutes walk, we set out on foot through some dull housing estates.  Our target was a new 2026 Beer Guide entry called The Quill...

The Quill (106 The Street, Rustington, BN16 3NJ)
This is somewhere at completely the opposite end of the micro pub spectrum to Worthing's Green Man or Anchored, or to the originals in Kent.
It's been open since early December 2023 in what was originally an electrical shop.
Far too smart for my liking.  Green leather cushioned bar stools, a bit of botanical wallpaper, flowers, the name in lights at the end of the room.

 

The trade was good, with all tables taken inside, as many (if not more) folks on the wine as the cask ale.
Great choice of cask though, which I had extra time to peruse thanks to the obnoxious lady who all but shoved me out the way in an all important insistence at being served first.
"You can't possibly buy these, you brought us lunch", "No I insist", "No really we'll get the white wines", "No, I've already got my card out..."   Arggggggg!

The outdoor tables in the sunshine may have been taken, but we were happy to escape to peace and quiet in the shade with views of the local shops.
The local Arundel 'Castle Ale' was on decent form but a fairly ordinary bitter.  Then realising we had a bit of time to spare, I popped back to the bar for the Three Acre 'West Coast Ale' - a very good, peachy 5.6% IPA.  A mistake, as we almost missed the bus thanks to me having to queue for the solitary gents toilet.

We caught bus 701 to the Strand, leaving us a 10-minute walk between the railway line and a ploughed field.  Where's the sunshine gone...

At the end of the footpath you'll find the Henty Arms...

The Henty Arms (2 Ferring Lane, Ferring, BN12 6QY)
This is a good-looking large pub, named after the brewers Henty & Constable who took over in 1927 (the Chichester brewery would later be gobbled up by the Watney empire in 1954).  Prior to that, this pub had been the New Inn since its construction in 1830.
It's a rarity these days to find the lounge and public bars completely separate and served by their own entrances, a bar counter straddling both inside.

We entered the lounge bar and I ordered a half of 'Sussex Best'.
How long to the next bus Mrs PropUptheBar?
"Four minutes."
Dammit.  Four minutes with the jeopardy of a level-crossing between us and the bus stop meant about 30-seconds for the beer.  Does that even count as a pub tick?

We hopped aboard the number 11, running early, and let this take us back into the western reaches of Worthing to another micro.

The Fynn (54 Goring Road, Worthing, BN12 4AD)
The Flynn was doing a roaring trade, plenty of people within the narrow bar, several outside in front where the sun appears to have come out again since that grey walk across the fields.

It originally opened as the Georgi Fin in 2017 in a former men's clothes store.  New owners took over in 2024 and undertook a bit of a refurb and a name change that didn't veer too far from the original.

 

I rather liked it.  Lots of character, helped by the crowd of folks and soundtrack of multiple conversations, space for a dart board, and ample pump clip decoration.
The drinks range included crafty keg lines, several ciders, and four cask pumps with beers from Pentrich, Long Man, Time & Tide, and Silent Brew.  The latter was a 'Rich Millionaire' chocolate caramel and biscuit stout.  Easy pick for me, then.
An odd disparity in pint and half-pint pricing saw cask at £4.50 for a big one, £2.60 for a half, which I really don't agree with - 70p for the extra glass-wash for anyone trying to halves?

Although I do agree with the free cheese from the weekend buffet, which briefly filled a gap and allowed us to squeeze in one more micro before making a beeline for tea at The Original Chipwick (excellent!).

We returned glasses to the bar at The Flynn and scooted up Reigate Road towards West Worthing station.
The football crowd had deterred us from The Foresters when we passed this on our first day in town, so second time lucky with a decent number of custom but space for us to sit comfortably at the back.

I enjoyed a super stout from New Mills' Torrside Brewery in the Foresters.  A fine beer to end an excursion through the towns and 'burbs to the west of Worthing centre.

I'll close this post with the bright picture of the pier that was missing from the previous Worthing post.

Thanks for reading/skimming/looking at the pictures/worrying about Mrs PropUptheBar's wet feet.