Lewes, on a wet Saturday afternoon

Last Saturday was something of a washout, so much so that the family barbecue we’d been invited to, by Mrs PBT’s’ niece, at her new home in Uckfield, had to be cancelled. Rather annoyingly, both Friday and Sunday were fine, it’s just that a rather slow-moving weather front put the kibosh on things.

Determined to do something, other than stay at home watching the rain, I suggested a drive down to Lewes.  I knew from the time I worked in the town that there is a large Tesco down by the river, and I also knew that it is only a short walk along the towpath, from Tesco’s car park to Harvey’s Brewery.

As well as wanting to stock up on some of Harvey’s rarer bottled beers - brews such as Tom Paine, Bonfire Boy, Star of Eastbourne and Prince of Denmark, I had a number of empty beer bottles to return. Harvey’s are one of the few breweries to use returnable bottles, and over the past 18 months I’d accumulated quite a few of them. A shopping expedition to Lewes would provide a good excuse to return these, whilst picking up a few new ones at the same time.

We set off shortly before midday, choosing the direct route along the A26, via Tunbridge Wells and Crowborough. This is a road I know well, having worked in Lewes for three and a half years, between 1992 and 1995. I was 30 years younger back then, so took the daily 50-mile round trip, in my stride, but these days it’s not a commute I would like to repeat on a regular basis.

It rained incessantly all the way, the rain perhaps helping to keep traffic levels down, but it did mean that moment, when the imposing bulk of the South Downs suddenly comes into view, didn’t happen. Rain, low cloud, call it what you will, meant we were driving into Lewes before the famous chalk hills could be seen, and then only because they rather dominate the town.

Some annoying, and quite major roadworks held up our entry into Lewes, so I made a mental note to select a different route for the drive home. We parked the car at Tesco’s and leaving Mrs PBT’s to do the grocery shopping (she much prefers shopping on her own, and that’s not something I'm going to argue with), Matthew and I descended the steps to the riverside towpath, and followed it towards Harvey’s magnificent looking, brewery.

Following the disastrous flooding of 2000, the company have constructed a large, but attractive, red-brick wall, right around the perimeter of the brewery – an expensive undertaking but worth every penny if it protects against future flooding. Our walk therefore took us round the back of the brewery, before emerging into the bustle of Cliffe High Street. From there, it is just a couple of hundred yard to the brewery shop.

What I’ve always liked about Lewes, and bear in mind I spent three and a half years working in the town, is the large number of independent shops. These range from book and record shops to hardware and clothing outlets, along with the obligatory antique/tat shops. There are also a few “alternative” and quite quirky shops, that don’t fit into the above categories. Pride of place, in my view though, is the Harvey’s Brewery Shop, fronting on to Cliffe High Street, at the corner of the pedestrian and small vehicle entrance to the brewery yard.

I was a regular visitor to the shop, during the time I worked in the town, walking from my employer’s factory, on the Cliffe Industrial Estate, along the River Ouse, and then following the old road (now bypassed by the Cuilfail Tunnel), making a couple of visits each week. My purpose was to fill up my Karry-Keg beer jug, primarily with Sussex Best, but also with whichever seasonal beer Harvey’s had available at the time. I enjoyed those walks, and the peace and quiet of the old road with its rows of cottages, leading to the top of Cliffe High Street. It was also good to get away from the workplace, and “escape” back into the real world, from time to time.

In keeping with the illustrious brewery buildings behind, the shop is an attraction in itself and is well-stocked and well laid out, with all sorts of Harvey’s related goodies. As well as the aforementioned cask ale and bottles to take away, the shop stocks a wide range of wines and spirits plus, for those who like to act as purveyors of some free advertising for the brewery, all sorts of Harvey’s sartorial merchandise.

Matthew and I were there for the beer and ended up filling our shopping basket with quite a range of “hard to obtain” seasonal brews, to take home with us.  We handed over the dozen or so empties, that I’d accumulated, and received a refund of 10p, covering the deposit due on each bottle.

We didn’t dally to take photos of the shop interior, as was there was a Covid restriction on numbers allowed into the shop at any one time. Pleased with our purchases, we retraced our footsteps back along the River Ouse, to Tesco, where Mrs PBT’s had more or less finished the shopping, picking up a sandwich each to eat in the car, for our lunch. Another bonus was the rain had finally stopped, making the drive home a lot more pleasant.

As hinted at earlier, I took a different route out of Lewes, that involved crossing the river and then heading up the rather steep, School Hill into the heart of the town, passing the Law Courts and the famous White Hart Inn, which face each other across the High Street. After passing the Black Horse Inn, now nicely restored and much improved from the time when friend Eric and I stayed there, whilst walking the South Downs Way, we headed out of town on the East Grinstead road.

We were quite high up, but I was told to keep my eyes on the road, rather than the view, as we began to descend from the Downs, and back into the Ouse valley. We passed through the villages of South and North Chailey, both of which are picturesque, and well laid out settlements. The Five Bells pub, overlooking the green, looked particularly inviting, and even more tempting!

The route home meant turning onto the A272, which took us through the much larger village of Newick. Again, there were a number of attractive looking properties and several pubs, all of which suggest that this corner of East Sussex warrants further exploration for dedicated pub-goers. Once I cut down on my hours at work, I will be taking a close look at some of the local bus routes, and planning out a few cross-border forays, taking full advantage of my bus pass.

It pains me to say, especially as someone who has live most of his life in Kent, that Sussex does have the edge on its northern neighbour, with some very pretty looking villages, surrounded by equally attractive countryside, but Kent’s proximity to London and the Thames Estuary, doesn’t help the northern part of the county.

As stated earlier, Lewes is also a town that is well worth a visit, and with the No. 29 bus running between Tunbridge Wells and Brighton, is another place easily accessible, using my "old-git’s" bus pass!