B&B's in and about Chiltington Laneby C L Scribbler - June 7, 2016Even before you saw this web site you may already have been thinking - what a charming and delightful place Chiltington Lane is. How can I spend more time looking around the area if I don't live nearby or know someone who does? Well - you don't have to compromise by staying as far away as Lewes or even in other delightful places in Greater East Chiltington or the pretty areas hugging Underhill Lane - which - if you don't know it - is the road running along the foot of the South Downs in the National Park here between Clayton and Cooksbridge. The good news - if you are thinking about a staying visit to Chiltington Lane - is that even though cottages, houses and mansions are few and far between hereabouts I've managed to find four of my neighbours who offer B&B accomodation. Four! - that's hardly a directory of webscale proportions (but we are looking for something that's more like a human scale on this web site). Despite its brevity - it took me many years to compile this list. That's partly due to the fact that people who live somewhere are usually the worst people to ask about where you can stay (unless they have done some sampling themselves as part of their original house hunting) and the other reason the extent of B&B hospitality in the lane took me so long to notice is that you don't see any obvious signs as you walk up and down the lane advertising the availability of such services. I guess that's where the internet comes in useful. But in this particular case this list started with me learning from first hand conversations and the details - such as web links etc - came later when I started work on the ChiltingtonLane.com web site. where to start? From the orientation point of view this list starts from the Cooksbridge / Lewes end of the lane and assumes that you alread know where the lane itself is by having followed (or disregarded) the advice in my navigational blog - Where inexactly is Chiltington Lane? The order of the B&B's in the list below is as you find them along the lane assuming you're heading in the Plumpton direction (with the Downs to be seen on your left). Depending when you view this page and when I last checked the details some or all of the properties described in earlier versions of my list below may no longer B&B's. In most such cases the link here goes to a historic archive of their respective websites along with an indication that it's a historic entry - for example "circa 2016". |
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Chapel Farmchapel-farm.comWhere is it?If you can see the 3 way signpost (Cooksbridge 1, East Chiltington 1¾, Chailey 2) at the Eastern approach to Chiltington Lane then drop down the slope for about 50 yards towards the railway bridge but turn left before you reach it. The private track to Chapel Farm begins there. If one is being pedantic the address of Chapel Farm is Wickham Lane (rather than Chiltington Lane) but as Chapel Farm 's drive is a rolling stone's rattle from the end of Chiltington Lane I've included it in this list. |
 Chapel Farm reviews:- tripadvisor, food standards agency | ||||||||||||||
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Willow Cottage - circa 2016Where is it?If you walk or drive too fast then you'll almost certainly shoot past Willow Cottage as I have done many times. It seems to blend with the lane so you almost don't realise it's there. But it is. And where it is - is at the very beginning of Chiltington Lane - on the left hand side as you enter the lane with the Downs on your left. I'm saying this left hand down a bit stuff because many drivers I talk to on their mobile phones seem to have no idea of their East or West by the time they've arrived somewhere which is not quite here. And the sun is sometimes hidden by clouds. And that old woodsman technique which involves parking your car and finding the moss on the bark of an old tree is wrong on many trees which I could show you. I know some drivers who get their left and right hand directions get mixed up too. |
 Willow Cottage paintings from Willow Cottage | ||||||||||||||
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Southover Cottage - circa 2016Where is it?As you progress along Chiltington Lane (with the Downs on your left and maybe a passing train on the left too) you'll start thinking - how peaceful and characterful this lane is - with every cottage and house looking different. The road stays about level for a few hundred yards and then you'll see a country style little red post box on your left. The track seems to widen here as the verge is well worn at this point. Because it's where the postman has to park (to make space for any passing traffic) and it's also where residents drive alongside the box so they can pop their letters in without actually having to get out of the car and get their shopping shoes muddy. Almost immediatel after the post box the lane drops away ahead of you. But at about the same time on your left you'll see a steep ramp going upwards with a red 5 MPH sign to the railway crossing. Whatever you do - if you're driving - don't go up that road. It is not for you. (Although it can be the start of many interesting walks.) The distracting contrast between up and down at almost exactly the same time is immediately followed by an - "Ah isn't that lovely" on your left. And this is the point where you have arrived at this destination. |
 Southover Cottage tweets from SouthoverCottage B&B | ||||||||||||||
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Garden Studio - Bowling GreenBy the time you've got to this part of a web page I have to assume that either you have been paying serious attention - or else maybe you've just scrolled down the page quickly - in which case I may have to make sure we're still on the right track.So... regarding - Where is it? If you have already passed all the other B&Bs I've mentioned above then this is the last one. It is actually at the end of Chiltington Lane and is on the left. But it doesn't look like the end of the lane as you're driving - because the road continues and turns sharply to the right just after you pass Bowling Green (an attractive clapper boarded house) on your left. You only clue to the fact that you are leaving Chiltington Lane and weaving into its continuation (Highbridge Lane) is the sign on your right which says Chiltington Lane. (The very same sign which is at the top of this page.) So you could say - that this is the start of the lane (which it is) You won't see much of Bowling Green's garden from the road because it's behind a hedge. But the porperty itself is in a large many acres plot which is on a bridleway to the South Downs. |
 Garden Studio - Bowling Green | ||||||||||||||
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you've now reached the end of the B&B pageplease take care not to fall offThat's it from me on the subject of B&B's for now.Other things you might be interested in... |
 image above from the scribble Alexander Woyte and the Goblins | ||||||||||||||
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social media, twittery, facebooky type of links and logos and ads and
apologies for cookies - but there aren't any cookies - so you don't have to
waste your time pounding them into web crumbs. But returning to the social media question - I think that my one follower is quite enough for the moment until I think of some more interesting things to say. (Might have gone back down to none again by the time you read this.) | |||||||||||||||
