Chiddingly

Chiddingly is the kind of East Sussex village you have to mean to find. There is no through-road of any significance, just a web of narrow lanes twisting between hedgerows and shaws in the High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty whose name comes from the old English for "high forested land". The village itself is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Cetelingei, "the place of Cedd's people", and for centuries it made its living from farming and from ironworking, with a forge once run by the French family at nearby Stream Farm supplying the Wealden iron industry.

Today Chiddingly is a scatter of weatherboarded and tile-hung houses around a small green, a village shop, a well-loved pub and a parish church whose slender spire is visible for miles across the surrounding farmland. It sits almost equidistant between Lewes and Hailsham, close enough to Glyndebourne to hear the interval bell on a still summer evening, yet far enough into the Weald to feel genuinely rural. Walkers, cyclists and anyone chasing a slower pace of life tend to like it here; day-trippers who only know the Sussex coast are often surprised by how quickly the land folds into quiet farmland once you turn inland.

Top things to do in Chiddingly

Chiddingly rewards people who enjoy wandering rather than ticking off sights, but there is a genuine cluster of interest within a short drive.

• Chiddingly Church — The grade I listed parish church dates largely from the 13th century, though Norman masonry found during 19th-century restoration suggests an earlier building on the site. Its 128-foot stone spire, added in the 15th century, carries the Pelham buckle badge, and inside is the elaborate Jefferay Monument to Sir John Jefferay, Chief Baron of the Exchequer under Elizabeth I.
• The Six Bells — A coaching inn licensed since 1730, known for its open fires, oak beams, live music several nights a week and a genuinely mixed crowd of locals, walkers and bikers.
• Glyndebourne — The famous country-house opera house lies a few miles to the west, near Lewes; even if opera is not your thing, the surrounding parkland and the sight of black-tie picnics on the lawns each summer season is a Sussex institution worth knowing about.
• Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum — A short drive away near Lewes, combining wetland gardens, a large wildfowl collection and a museum of vintage cars and carriages, all set in parkland that is particularly lively during spring hatching season.
• Michelham Priory — A moated Tudor house built within the 14th-century gatehouse of an Augustinian priory, surrounded by England's longest medieval moat and seven acres of gardens, a few miles south-east near Hailsham.
• Lewes — The county town, with its Norman castle, antiques shops, independent bookshops and the steep, cobbled Keere Street, makes an easy and rewarding half-day out.
• High Weald walking country — Chiddingly sits within the High Weald AONB, and the network of footpaths radiating from the village through oak woodland, shaws and small fields is reason enough for many visitors to come.

Getting to Chiddingly

Chiddingly is most easily reached by car, being a few miles north of Hailsham and roughly eight miles east of Lewes via a network of B-roads and country lanes; sat-nav is useful here, as several approaches are single-track. The nearest mainline railway stations are Berwick and Glynde, both on the Lewes to Eastbourne line, from where a taxi or a fairly brisk walk across country completes the journey; Lewes station itself, with more frequent services to London and Brighton, is a similar distance away by road. There is no direct bus service into the village itself, so most visitors do arrive by car.

Best time to visit Chiddingly

Late spring and summer show the Weald at its best, with hedgerows and woodland in full leaf and long evenings for a walk or a drink in the pub garden; this is also Glyndebourne season, so the roads and pub can be busier on performance evenings. Autumn brings good colour to the Weald's oak and beech woodland and is a favourite time for walkers, while winter has its own quiet charm, with the church spire often the only landmark rising above misty fields. As with much of inland Sussex, the lanes can be muddy after wet weather, so waterproof boots are worth packing whatever the season.

Where to stay in Chiddingly

Accommodation in the village itself is limited to a handful of bed and breakfasts and self-catering cottages in converted farm buildings, which suits Chiddingly's low-key character. Nearby Golden Cross, Hailsham and Lewes offer a wider spread of options, from pub rooms to hotels, for visitors who want more choice within easy driving distance.

Food and drink in Chiddingly

The Six Bells is the obvious focus of village life, serving Harvey's Best Bitter alongside a changing guest ale and home-cooked pub food in a room full of oak beams and open fires; it has hosted live music for years and, according to local lore, once had Pablo Picasso as a visitor. Beyond the pub, options in the village itself are limited, and most visitors combine a trip here with lunch or dinner in nearby Lewes, Hailsham or one of the other Weald villages, which offer a wider choice of cafes and restaurants.