HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 43 – WEST SUSSEX

Hmmm. Not a great “county” (half-county ?) in any sense, but one I’ve seen a lot of lately, having only really started on Worthing around 2016.

Worthing isn’t Brighton, or Hastings, but it’s “better than Bexhill”, and it can have that slogan for free.

Finding five representative pubs to kick us off was tougher than in its eastern neighbour;

but Mrs RM had childhood holidays down in Selsey, so that seaside must have some appeal, and the South Downs above Chichester are a gem.

And it’s to those hills that we turn for Pub. No.1.

Hooksway – Royal Oak

Not far from Goodwood, down a scarily steep looking track, sits the Royal Oak.

You’re immediately reassured by the charity boxes and fish tank,

and flat beer from Langham, the national (half) county brewer.

We weren’t asked if we were dining, always a win, and the landlord chatted amiably about CAMRA and Bruce Masters, who’d just named the Royal Oak in his (excellent) Top 50 of the 50,000 pubs he’d visited. But had Bruce ever completed the GBG ? Oh no. Much too sensible to try.

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In 2014, Worthing had zero (0) micropubs. Now it has more micros than I have entries in my Top 100, all of them next to railway stations at half mile intervals whose barriers make the town all but impenetrable.

I’d have picked the incredibly friendly Anchored in Worthing, but it’s closed at the moment; this one is equally as good;

Worthing – Fox & Finch

When I retweet this post later I’ll lead with the cat painting, the highlight of a charming/cluttered micro with lovely people (and a few Worthing micros were decidedly unlovely).

I felt at home. OK retiredmartin Towers doesn’t have planes dangling from the ceilings (yet) or paintings of kittens, and purists will balk at the cushions, but a “Bass for men” beer mat works for me, and the Pompey beer was cool and clean and gorgeous, a rare NBSS 4.

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Next up is another small pub, but as far from the “trad micro” experience as you could hope/fear.

Billingshurst – Billi Tap

Of course, the main reason to visit Billingshurst to attempt to park at Jengers Mead without being fined. I’d walked through a Panamanian town with only a 10 year old on a bike as security, I wasn’t scared of a car park attendant.

Inside the gorgeous old beamed Billi, we were offered a flight of tasters by top man Martin, and shouted “YES !“.

And that was the start of our downfall. As you see above, the tasters weren’t that small, and we swiftly moved on to halves and pints of the favoured ones from Little Monster and Brolly, with the cask interloper registering a rare 4.5. The scratchings and biltong were equally stunning.

Mrs RM read a book about Sussex Women which missed her out on the basis she was born just over the border in Kent. Is there a book about Kent Women ?

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Let’s move away from craft now, to the upmarket villages north of Horsham, itself a good town lacking a definitive “classic” pub.

Rudgwick – King’s Head

I’ve picked Rudgwick as it’s a quintessentially English village, all quotations from Hebrews,

and rugby matches against the Weybridge Vandals and the Ecomomicals.

The Kings Head is a fine survivor of the “upmarket drinking house”, where the Old Boys demand a beer they’ve heard of,

where the chaps seemed to be retired Executives who wouldn’t be seen dead in a Spoons.

I could see myself fulfilling that role when I retire, you know.

—–

My final pick may be familiar with those of you flying in from JFK to tick pubs.

Gatwick Airport – Beehive

You’ll have said goodbye to London,

and arrived at Gatwick with 4 hours to kill before your 10 hour flight.

I’m not sure what a classic Airport Spoons is, but I know the Beehive isn’t one of them. But it sells Doom Bar, your last pint of nectar till you come again.

On our last flight back from the States, we found ourselves waiting 6 hours for the first train into London (why), trying and failing to sleep on the benches.

Then at 3.30am, Matt strolled past and casually said “The Spoons is open, you know”

What a joy it is to be drinking Britain’s favourite beer at 03.31 in the morning.

OK, you find a sixth pub.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

21 thoughts on “HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 43 – WEST SUSSEX”

    1. Greater Worthing wasn’t a place I enjoyed driving through !

      There’s a few nice large houses in Angmering and Rustington but the place never appealed to me and the Beer Guide pubs are all identikit small bars with identikit customers.

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      1. I don’t think you could level that charge at the Refreshment Rooms, the Parsonage, or the Toad in the Hole (just three of the current entries for Worthing). Outside Worthing, the Bridge at Amberley (not in the current GBG and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) is an excellent choice for both beer and food.

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      2. Andy,
        Imagine my disappointment last summer on my first ever visit to Tadcaster finding the Howden Arms closed.

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  3. I’ve mentioned this before, but in the early 80s a friend lived down that way near Emsworth and I sometimes used to go and visit for the weekend. We went to the Royal Oak at Hooksway a few times. Back then it had a very grumpy landlord who once asked “Are you CAMRA then?” and, on seeing me tie an empty crisp packet into a bow, said “I bet you used to make model aeroplanes when you were younger!” I didn’t, actually.

    There used to be a quite a few unspoilt rural pubs – the Blue Ship at The Haven is one that sticks in the mind.

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    1. I am reminded of much of West Sussex being a beer desert fifty years ago, seeing an unbadged handpump on entering the Ship in Worthing, asking if it was used expecting a negative answer and being delighted with the Draught Bass from it.
      That “Bass for men” beermat is over fifty years old.
      A Wetherspoons in West Sussex reminds me of on Discourse’s predecessor where Horsham’s Lynd Cross got more than enough mentions including famously that “the Pride’s drinking well”.

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      1. If I’d had to pick ONE pub in Horsham it would have been the Spoons, that Lynd Cross seeming the liveliest place in town with an OAP dating corner (no sign for that on What Pub).

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  4. In Worthing I’d pick the Selden Arms. Was closed for while put reopened last April. Still retains a proper pub back-street-local feel but with an excellent beer selection. Landlord was great. Sort of pub could have stayed in all day if didn’t have a match to go to. (For once was worth the interruption, a 90+7 winner is always great!)

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  5. Having moved to Worthing a couple of years ago, I offer a word in its defence. Yes, there is a fair bit of urban sprawl; the traffic on the A27 is horrendous; the trains to London are slow and unreliable; the last second-hand bookshop in town closed last year; and the local council did its best to ruin the town centre in the 1960s. But property is cheap (at least by London standards); there is a fair bit of attractive and historic architecture left in the town; the town centre has a lively and unpretentious atmosphere; there are plenty of good pubs, as I noted (anonymously) above (Harvey’s is ubiquitous, which is never a bad thing); and, above all, you are never far from the sea and the downs, which makes it an invigorating place to live.

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