The Lodge at Winchelsea, Winchelsea

I suppose that in the 'old days' one might have called this a motel, but it's all quite modern and well done. The bar and Spike's restaurant area in the barn has a mix of seating / dining areas, and the front patio beer garden is a reasonable spot when you get a break from the traffic on the adjoining A259. The solitary handpump sadly had a reversed London Pride clip, but bottles including Doom Bar and Black Sheep (£6.25 with a packet of Nobby's Nuts) were available from the fridges.

The Lodge is a 28-bedroom hotel complex with a hotel bar and restaurant that is open to guests and passing travellers. To the right is ample parking and outside the entrance to the bar are some picnic tables adjacent to the busy A259. Inside the bar a stainless-steel serving counter faces the entrance. When I visited on a recent Saturday afternoon a limited premium keg range was available alongside Harveys Best which was being drawn from the lone handpump. Seating runs across the front of the bar and there are steps either side of the bar that lead up to small seating areas at the rear. The television on the right wall was off and live sports are not shown here, but there was some low background music playing. Live music was advertised for an upcoming Saturday, but this is not a regular occurrence and the tickets cost £10. Food is served and the Sunday carvery for £10.95 per person was heavily advertised. I found the service to be friendly and the surroundings were very clean and tidy, but this is very much a hotel bar with little character. I think in future I will leave this place to the hotel residents.