insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 01 - March 2015 | Page 70

GETAWAYS

A Glorious Getaway at

The Bell, TICEHURST
Sometimes I just want to get away from it all and visit a place that makes me feel a million
miles from home, but the thought of airports, queues, passport control and lost luggage don’t
sound like music to my holiday-desiring ears. A staycation might appeal to some, but for me,
when I take a break, I want to make sure I’m actually ‘breaking’ from the norm; so I paid a visit
to The Bell Inn, Ticehurst in East Sussex for a dream-like escape from reality. BY DONNA MARTIN

I’ve only heard spectacular things about The Bell
– especially the quirky touches – like tenor horns
used for the urinals in the men’s toilet. Yes, really.
Horns. I saw them with my own eyes. This is just
one of the hundreds of fantastic, eccentric and
frankly fabulous gems hidden throughout the
pub and rooms.
On a cold but sunny weekend this winter, I was
able to experience the glory that is the The Bell,
including the icing on the cake: my night in The
Love Nest.
Ticehurst is a place after my own heart – a
quintessential English village with family-owned
shops speckled along the high street, friendly
residents full of smiles and of course, a great
local pub. But this pub isn’t your everyday, regular
village pub. This is a pub with pizzazz, with that
je ne sais quoi. Imagine your local pub being a
scrambled egg. The Bell is a passion fruit banana
soufflé.
After a £2.8m refurbishment completed in 2011,
The Bell has a charming new personality,

transformed from its previous life as a coaching
inn into a creative paradise. There’s a Banksy in
the hall, Vivienne Westwood wallpaper adorns
the walls and a giant tree trunk winds up the
stairwell two storeys high.
I knew I was staying in The Love Nest prior to
my arrival, but having never been to The Bell, I
didn’t know what to expect. I’ll tell you what I
did expect was to be shown to my ‘normal’ inn
room – a nice room mind you – but I definitely
didn’t expect what I was about to see.
The Bell’s manager asked to take my bags, and
led me outside to the newly constructed lodges.
Each unique in its own way, the lodges look
impressive enough from the outside, but it’s
what’s inside that matters. But, let’s not get
sidetracked. Let’s fast-forward past the lodges
and turn the corner, to where I laid eyes on my
accommodation for the night: The Love Nest.
When I heard the name ‘The Love Nest’, I was
thinking a romantic room for couples, maybe
with a super-king bed or a bath for two. Possibly

70

a bottle of bubbly on arrival. I didn’t think it would
be an actual nest. I mean, would you?
But a nest it was – a giant, luxurious nest, made
just for two. The design of the lodge is ingenious,
from the exterior Hobbit-like entrance to the
interior wood-burning stove, gorgeous copper
bath and weird and wonderful décor. This room
wasn’t built just for looks either – it went way
beyond first impressions with its high-tech
gadgetry (remote controlled skylight, surroundsound speaker system and curved TV) to the
complimentary local scones and jam, vintage
phone and private rooftop patio.
After ooh-ing and ahh-ing a little too much, and
sending a few too many photos to everyone in
my contact list, boasting about my abode for the
evening, I kicked off my shoes, turned off my
phone, poured myself a glass of wine and relaxed
until dinner. No ܁ѡ