Royal Oak, Wineham, West Sussex

This is a gem of a pub I discovered almost by accident - I was just looking for somewhere to have lunch prior to a vineyard tour of the nearby Bolney Estate. As it turned out, the pub had a far more lasting effect on me than the vineyard did, and I've gone out of my way to go back a further twice. Once as part of the annual tradition I have with a friend from work of visiting a "quaint" pub in the run-up to Christmas, and then shortly afterwards as part of the Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men's annual Wassail, or as they call it down in Sussex "Apple Howling".

On that first visit, in April 2019, to add to the sense of nostalgia there was some kind of vintage car meeting here, with an array of very fine specimens parked outside. It was a slightly grey day but the timber framed exterior was still a joy to behold, and I knew I was in for a treat.

Inside there was an admirable commitment to keeping modernity at bay. The bar counter has no pumps or taps along it, beer is served directly from the barrels in a room just behind. At this time they didn't even have a till (although I think I recall that they have since relented). 

There is very little "visual clutter", and certainly almost none of the naff garish tat which spoils so many modern pubs - absolutely no fruit machines or TV, the walls aren't strewn with signs and posters. The furniture is all simple wood, and very much in keeping with the atmosphere.

My second visit was in late November 2019 for the aforementioned annual "quaint" pub outing. I thought this was going to be a sure fire hit, but my impossible to please friend from work took issue with the lantern hanging directly above our table, which was brighter than it really needed to be, and on closer inspect turned out - shock horror - to have an LED bulb inside! So that does slightly undermine my point above about the gratifying lack of any signs of modernity - but, you know, you do actually need some form of lighting in a pub.

Quibbles over choice of illumination aside, I found it wonderfully atmospheric to be there on a dark, early winter evening. There's not really much in the way of other houses in the immediate vicinity of the pub, and not a lot of street lights around, so it feels wonderfully remote here. Which is impressive considering it's only a 15 minute taxi from Haywards Heath, which in turn is only a 45 minute train journey from central London.

My most recent visit was January 2020, after the Chanctonbury Ring Morris Wassail / Apple Howling event at nearby Wobblegate. It was a fairly short one - I only stayed for one drink - but it was a delight to be here again, however briefly.