It’s a long way from Rye to Hastings on foot. It’s even further when it is winter, all of the cafes are shut, all of the public toilets are shut, the mud is a foot deep, and the icy wind is blowing you in the opposite direction from the way you are walking. Oh yes, and there are hills, a lot of them.

We should not even have been doing this walk. Last summer, on a beautiful, balmy day, we set off from Hastings on our way to Rye, having planned the perfect lunch stop at Pett Level (home of, you guessed it, Pett Rescue). Except the one cafe in that neck of the woods was shut that day. Stubbornly we pushed on, and in an effort to take a short cut to the nearest pub, and at something of a sugar low point, Mrs N rather violently twisted her ankle. With her leg held together only with an elasticated bandage and Northern grit, she managed to limp as far as Winchelsea, where we had to give up the walk (and several months of walks after. She now possesses the same ankle brace as Andy Murray, although he is asking for it back).

So because we are determined to complete every last stupid mile of the English Coastal Path, we decided to make a day of it, and go back to Hastings from Rye.

There really are not a lot of lunch options this time of year, but we were hopeful the Cove, which was just over halfway as the crow flies, would be open. As you can see from the photo, indications were not good. Given our previous experience, perhaps packing a sandwich would have made sense, but failing to learn from experience, we put our faith in the one pub for 15 miles being open: And thank goodness it was.

It is not so bleak as it looks on the inside: In fact, it is really nicely done out, and very cosy. And even though we were covered head to toe in mud (we had left our boots outside), they were very welcoming.

And let me tell you, this is not pub food as we know it. Clearly the chef has been kidnapped from a top London restaurant and chained to the stove, because everything was amazing. We only had three dishes, but that was quite enough, and everything was amazing.

If you’re after a cheap sandwich and a pint, this may not be the place for you, but if you want to be transported away from damp boots and trousers for half an hour, enough to spur you on for the next five miles and five hills, this is the place to come.

Conclusion

Rating: 5/5

• Food: 5/5
• Service: 4.5/5
• Atmosphere: 4.5/5
• Drinks: 4/5
• Value for money: 4.5/5
• Would we go back: 5/5

The Cove: https://thecovefairlight.co.uk/