Who doesn’t like the idea of a food trail? And this East Sussex food trail is a corker. It combines Sussex heritage and culture, both old and new, with food and drink. The trail is designed over the course of two days, but can easily be spread over three days if you want a little more time to digest and explore.
Day 1. Rye to Muddles Green
Catch a train from London or Hastings to Rye.
The first day of your tour takes you from history to art, so loosen your trousers and prepare for both some of the quintessential and quirky flavours of Sussex.
Start with one of the Seven Good Things
Rye is a good place to start any tour of East Sussex, but we’ve chosen it because it features in the well known folk poem, Seven Good Things of Sussex. Specifically, it is Rye herring that gets a mention, so when you’ve finished exploring either the town or the harbour, head to Rye Fish Market and Seaford Bar in Simmons Quay. Here you can top up on supplies in the deli or enjoy oysters, cockles, whelks and herring in dill in their bar, washed down with some local wine.
Rye foodie events
Tie in your visit with a local foodie event such as:
- Rye Harvest Wine & Food Fair on September 13th & 14th 2025.
-
Rye Bay Scallop Week from 21st Feb to 1st Mar 2026.
Madness in Muddles Green
From Rye, you’re heading west, to the tiny village of Muddles Green near Hailsham. It will take you about an hour by car. By public transport, travel by train to Polegate and get the bus from there.
Muddles Green and nearby Chiddingly appear on our East Sussex Food trail for a number of reasons. First up, in Muddles Green, you’ll find Farleys House and Gardens, the former home of Surrealists Lee Miller and Poland Penrose. In addition to her many other talents, Lee Miller was a keen cook and they run occasional summer cookery courses there in her kitchen (which just happens to be her original kitchen and has a couple of Picassos on the wall). Of course, expect it to be Surrealist cookery. Check availability before travel. Alternatively, buy tickets to the annual Surrealist Tea Party at the end of August each year.
If your visit doesn’t coincide with one of the workshops, you can buy Miller’s cookbook in the shop, stop at the village store in the courtyard (look out for locally made Golden Cross cheese) and buy a snack made by Seven Sisters Spices (next to the shop and one of the best samosas I’ve ever had) and then head to the Six Bells at Chiddingly.
The Onion Pie Murder
The Six Bells (built in 1730) is known to serve Lee Miller dishes occasionally, but it’s also famous for being the site of the inquest in the case of the Onion Pie Murder. In January 1852, Sarah Ann French murdered her husband by putting arsenic in his onion pie. They do still serve pies but I don’t think it’s still on the menu. Alternatively, just down the road at Gun Hill is Gun Brewery where they have a tap room and do tours. They also have a roster of Sussex’s finest street food vendors but don’t eat too much, because you need to have dinner in Jevington.
Jevington Jigg and Banoffi pie
If you fancy a leg stretch, you can walk from Muddles Green to Jevington (a distance of about 16 km) via the Wealdway and the South Downs Way. By public transport, it’s back to Polegate by bus and then onwards to Jevington. By car, it’s a 30 minute drive.
Jevington is a very pretty village just west of Eastbourne and on the South Downs Way. It’s famous for a couple of things which include its smuggling fraternity. Led by Jack Jigg AKA James or John Pettit, the Jevington Jigg activities is the stuff of legends and they were based out of the Eight Bells pub there. Rumours have it that there is even a tunnel to the nearby church used to aid their operations.
But the village is also known for a restaurant called the Hungry Monk (there was once a monastery in the village) where they invented Banoffi Pie in the 1970s. The restaurant has since closed but you can get Banoffee Pie in the Eight Bells and stay in the recently refurbished B&B The Laundry (which used to form part of the restaurant).
Day 2. Jevington to the sea
If you’ve eaten a lot yesterday, then start today with a brisk walk up to the Long Man at Wilmington (he features at Farleys House, so you’ll feel like you already know him). You can park at Wilmington and walk up from there or walk from Jevington (it’s a little over 3 km). It’s quite a view from the top and the Long Man is an intrinsic part of local folklore.
Lunch with the stars
Walk from the Long Man down into Alfriston (about 2.5km).
For lunch, it’s time to pull out all the stops because you have some stellar foodie destinations in this part of the world. Rathfinny, right on the top of the South Downs, is a vineyard with tastings rooms and a Michelin Star restaurant. The Star in Alfriston is run by TV celebrity Alex Polizzi and has a reputation for good food, and Wingrove House and The Alfriston will not let you down. There are also a couple of great little coffee shops in the village.
Liquid Litlington
Liquid Spirit Coffee Roasters in Litlington are a coffee roastery. They host “Coffee Experiences” where you’ll learn about the world of speciality coffee, its origin and process, and how this all affects the end result. You’ll get to taste and compare coffees and learn about homebrewing. But if coffee is not your thing, fear not, because just down the road, you’ll find Long Man Brewery where they host brewery tours and tastings. Or head into Seaford to the Harley House Distillery. They don’t do tours but they do a range of very local and very good gin. Whatever you opt for, make sure you head down to the beach at Cuckmere Haven or the cliff tops at Seaford Head for one last waist-saving excursion. A bus runs from Alfriston to Seaford and from Seaford, you can catch a train home.
Bon Appetit
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