A Pocket Guide to Lewes, East Sussex
A sweet spot for a day trip or leisurely weekend break from London or Brighton, Lewes punches well above its weight when it comes to artistic and historic clout – and the bounty of local Sussex produce makes great fuel for exploring.
17 February, 2021
- Words by
- Rae Boocock
Too
Too
often overlooked in favour of Brighton, its nearest and
rowdiest neighbour, Lewes is a place that punches above its weight
in the historic and artistic stakes. Royalist troops were famously
defeated here in the Battle of Lewes in 1264. Anne of Cleves
received a half-timbered house in her 1540 annulment from Henry
VIII and, two centuries later, local lad Thomas Paine penned the
Rights of Man, fuelling the Age of Enlightenment and inspiring the
American Revolution. Fast forward to the 20th century and the
Bloomsbury Group – Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and
co. – made this their rural stomping ground.
Today, Lewes is a well-to-do place, but one that’s far more
intriguing than it is trendy or snobby. Don’t expect much in the
way of small-plate restaurants, millennial-pink cafés, graffiti
murals and boutique hotels decked out with jewel-toned velvets;
this is a town that wears its idiosyncratic character on its
sleeve. Walk along Cliffe High Street on a sunny Saturday and
you’ll pass Morris dancers, market stalls peddling Sussex produce
and perhaps a few people chucking peas in a ditch – don’t call the
food-waste police; it’ll be the local World Pea-Throwing
Championship.
Aside from the town’s bacchanalian Bonfire Night celebrations,
when the local population quadruples in size, there’s much to see
and do along the narrow passageways that splinter off from medieval
streets. Dip in and out of friendly watering holes and artisan
cafés as you explore indie shops and historic points of interest.
When you’re done, the rolling chalk hills of the South Downs
National Park are within reach – just a mile outside Lewes the Iron
Age hillfort of Mount Caburn is an easy hike and offers spectacular
views, but venture a little farther and you’ll stumble upon the
Cuckmere Valley and Seven Sisters.
Just over an hour’s train ride from London Victoria and less
than 15 minutes from nearby Brighton, Lewes is a sweet spot for a
day trip or weekend break, and an essential pit-stop on a winding
excursion along the South Coast. Get planning…
hotel
Trevor House
hotel
Airbnb
hotel
The Grain Store Lewes
hotel
Walk Wood Wagon
hotel