TOAD IN THE HOLE AT BN6 CRAFT BAR

December 2025. Hassocks.

The vagaries of pub opening times laid bare in one day’s ticking.

1. Burgess Hill Spoons, open from 9am

2. Hassocks BN6 craft bar, open from 3pm

3. Burgess Hill Signalman, open from 4pm

With my return train from Burgess Hill I had to do them in that order, too, and as you’re about to see a minute in Burgess Hill is a minute too long.

Craft bars and micro pubs, as the song goes, are notorious for inconsistent opening and closing times, so let’s applaud BN6 in the main shopping arcade for telling me they were considering “experimenting” with an earlier 2pm opening, and actually doing it.

You might think I bang on about opening times a bit too much, “give the independent guy a break” and all that. In which case you’d be astonished by the vitriol on MumsNet recently towards independent coffee shops, book stores and dressmakers due to erratic opening and short hours.

In contrast, BN6 responded immediately to my messages, opened bang on time, and the Landlady (can’t think of a better term) was a gem of positivity about her village and her bar, mirroring Sue at that Wobbly Dagger in my own Walkley village.

She and her partner had only last week taken on BN6, I’ve no idea what that means for Guide inclusion, but as former regulars here they’d left the formula unchanged.

Bright and cheery, only a little bit beery, stout from Loud Shirt from Brighton.

An eclectic Christmas soundtrack included this one with (only) 8 Shazams,

and if Mrs RM had joined me she could have had the 10% Unbarred Stoutzilla (“no samples”) and a game of Toad in the Hole.

Unusual to see traditional Sussex pub games in a craft bar, but it felt perfect just here.

No, I have no idea how to play it (Edit : Thanks Dave).

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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.

37 thoughts on “TOAD IN THE HOLE AT BN6 CRAFT BAR”

    1. I presumed there was a Minneapolis Toad in the Hole league and you were already an expert, Dave. Donald Trump is a World Master (“Toady”) I believe.

      They’re not going to let me in the States after that comment, are they ?

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      3. Dave, If I’m not too old now I will be after another four years.
        But when will you and Dick publish the itinerary for your 2026 UK tour(s) ?

        Liked by 1 person

      13. Your cities list makes for an interesting road trip which is the right way to see the heartland. Follow that Big River with Cash and Muddy on the radio. Some interesting civil rights museums on that route.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I have never seen that hole game before. It looks dull but I am sure I am missing something good. “Bright and cheery, only a little bit beery” needs to be a teeshirt slogan.

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      3. There’s no need for a museum if you use the downstairs Gents of the North Stafford Hotel directly opposite Stoke on Trent railway station.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Martin,
        It always used to be the Roebuck on the Leek Road for Bass, then demolished for the 6th form college and moved a few doors towards Leek but that’s closed now.
        Then it was the Terrace just a bit further, kept by friends from Stafford as an Allied pub, now I think Dorbiere.
        The other way is the Glebe, one of the most southerly Higsons pubs fifty years ago, then Banks’s, now the new Joules and fitted out a bit better than their more recent ones.
        You probably know that I don’t tend to get to Stoke as often as Manchester or Liverpool.

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      6. Lana, using the original 1934 Twyfords Adamant urinal an hour ago in my third nearest decent pub ( Yes Martin, the one where Ash worked ) made me suspect that Ladies’ pub toilets might have suffered more regular refurbishments during our lifetimes.
        Incidentally two Gents toilets, front and rear, and only one Ladies, rear, indicates that before the pub was ‘opened up’ in 1999 the front of the pub was the Bar and the rear was the Lounge.

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  4. I’ve seen that game being played on one of the many “curated pub visits” (as Martin requires me to name them on his blog) I’ve been on in the last two or three years. (I can’t remember which trip or which pub, sorry.)

    The rules are, you throw the heavy weight at the lead-covered table, and the first person to die of lead poisoning is the winner.

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  5. “TOAD IN THE HOLE AT BN6 CRAFT BAR”

    I thought ‘toad in the hole’ was England’s cuisine at its finest? Or, is that the gadget to get rid of ‘toad in the hole’ once you’ve supped on it?

    “December 2025. Hassocks.”

    (looks up at price board)
    On the keg list, it’s 5p cheaper to buy the top four offerings in three 1/3 pints, instead of the whole pint all at one go.

    “and as you’re about to see a minute in Burgess Hill is a minute too long.”

    I’m starting to be fearful of even looking at that post.

    “so let’s applaud BN6 in the main shopping arcade”

    Did the inspiration for their name come from the mysterious symbols at St. C & D?

    “She and her partner had only last week taken on BN6, I’ve no idea what that means for Guide inclusion, but as former regulars here they’d left the formula unchanged.”

    Huzzah for them, and the fact they’re leaving things as they are… for the time being.

    “Bright and cheery, only a little bit beery, ”

    So, no need to be leery?

    “and if Mrs RM had joined me she could have had the 10% Unbarred Stoutzilla”

    Instead, she had the 10% back at the camper van, right? 😉

    “Unusual to see traditional Sussex pub games in a craft bar, but it felt perfect just here.”

    I think the word is ‘quirky’.

    “No, I have no idea how to play it (Edit : Thanks Dave).”

    Blimey. This Internet thingy knows everything!*
    * – (even things that are made up)

    Cheers

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    1. I think it’s quite hard to muck about too much with those one room craft beer places.

      Add a few cushions, food nights occasionally, bit of music, have a cheaper continental lager etc. But if you dumb down the beer range too much (like I think Quench have done) you become a wine/cocktail/gin bar without any USP.

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