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The Bell

UK England South East England East Sussex

One-of-a-kind village pub with quirky touches and superb food.

First and foremost, The Bell in Ticehurst is a great local village pub – cosy and comfortable, with plenty of beams and battered sofas, bare boards and faded rugs, open fires and candlelight, and an invitingly long, well-stocked bar. But what The Bell is perhaps best known for, in its own words, is its “hint of quirk” – bowler hat light fittings, coat hooks fashioned from cutlery, a tower of books forming a twisted column by the bar, a Banksy hanging in the hall, and, best of all, shiny tubas in place of urinals in the gents’ (sadly the ladies’ are nowhere near as much fun). Upstairs the 7 stylish bedrooms are equally eccentric, with rustic handmade beds with comfy mattresses, antique mirrors and weird bedside lamps; one has its own roof terrace; another – the ‘Love Nest’ – a copper bath in the room. They also have 4 garden lodge apartments, with mezzanine floors, huge baths and their own terraces, wood-burners and firepits. The food celebrates local produce, with small and large plates to share – anything from a decent burger to sea bream teriyaki – and good English wines.