UK Edition
There are 6,000 villages in the UK – and this one is the best
With a national park, vineyard and one of England’s greatest coastlines on its doorstep, the Sussex village of Alfriston has it all
Recently I challenged myself to find the best village in Britain. The starting criteria were simple. The village must have historic pubs, a great place to stay and eat, a national park on its doorstep and the coast just a few miles away. Not too much to ask, surely?
But the list of 6,116 villages soon whittled down to just a few dozen. Then came the secondary criteria. Independent shops, a proper village green, a tearoom, a National Trust property, galleries, a river, a nature reserve nearby. There soon emerged a clear winner.
This village, located in the South Downs National Park, has a medieval high street lined with crooked coaching inns and antiques shops, with a quaint village green worthy of a watercolour. A pebble’s throw away you have the Seven Sisters cliffs as well as one of the country’s best vineyards, Rathfinny.
Throw in a historic rural arts outpost, a book shop that belongs on Diagon Alley, and this village leaves the likes of Bray, Castle Combe, and Bamburgh quivering in its wake. Behold, the finest village in the land, according to rigorous maths: Alfriston, in East Sussex. Here are my workings.
In the village
Where to stay
The Star has been the talk of Alfriston since TV hoteliers Alex and Olga Polizzi opened up shop in 2021. The process of renovating this old coaching inn during the pandemic came with a few hiccups, as documented in the Channel 5 series My Hotel Nightmare, which you can still stream online.
Staying here is anything but a nightmare. At The Star the great outdoors and great indoors meet in style, with help-yourself Rockfish wellies, a well-stocked library for guests, and a glass of bubbles waiting on arrival.
The family-friendly hotel (dogs and children are welcome) is decorated with vintage furniture, with nods to the cultural heritage of the area with works by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant of the Bloomsbury Group on display.
All activity revolves around the shady Mediterranean courtyard, where guests and non-residents can enjoy a glass of rosé and peruse the à la carte menu – if you’re lucky, you may be served by the charming Fabrizio.
The Star is hosting a yoga retreat in October, featuring daily 90-minute yoga sessions and walks into the South Downs (October 9–13, from £1,968 including accommodation and all meals; a classic room starts from £260 including breakfast).
The pubs
The Star has Harvey’s Sussex Best on tap (practically obligatory in this part of the world), but you could easily while away an afternoon hopping between the other pubs in the village. The grade II-listed George Inn has a roaring log fire for winter days or a grassy walled garden for sunny ones, while The Six Bells has a splendid garden that tumbles down to the village green (or “tye” in Sussex parlance). The local pick is The Smugglers, which hosts a monthly quiz and serves guest ales from nearby micro-breweries including Burning Sky (Firle) and Longman (Littlington).
For drinks of the non-alcoholic variety, the Singing Kettle (01323 870723) and Badgers Tea House in the centre of the village are both strong options for a scone and a brew, while The Gun Room, overlooking the village green, makes a decent flat white and sells juices from the locally based Folkingtons.
The shops
You’re here, first and foremost, for the antiques. Objet Trouve sells treasures and curiosities (like “Mrs Mallard”, a Staffordshire figure with a duck’s head, a steal at £260) while Emmett and White will match you with a brooch for under £100 or an extravagant pillow, if you so wish.
If it’s a candle to make your house smell expensive you’re after, or ethical socks perhaps, the chichi lifestyle homeware shop Fern will do the job very nicely.
A destination in its own right, Much Ado Books is a higgledy-piggledy two-floor independent bookshop – by this writer’s estimation, one of the best in Britain – with new works, secondhand volumes and antiquarian titles, and armchairs dotted about if you are in no rush.
By the front door you can measure yourself up against the heights of literary greats, from Jack Kerouac to Charles Dickens.
Things to see
Alfriston is home to the first National Trust property in the country, 14th-century Clergy House (£8.80 adults, open Fridays and Saturday), which the charity purchased in 1896. The house is dressed in a variety of styles to reflect different time periods, from the parlour, frozen in the 1600s, to the 1920s reading room.
St Andrew’s Church, next door and overlooking the River Cuckmere, is known as the “Cathedral of the South Downs” and is well worth a visit. Unusually, with its central tower, the bells are rung from the chancel floor.
A short walk away
The seaside
Distance from village: 15-min drive or 90-min walk
It’s hard to know which is the lovelier approach to Cuckmere Haven: the photo-perfect downhill tramp from Southill Barn Car Park, or the walk along the winding river from Seven Sisters car park. Either way, the reward is the definitive view of the Seven Sisters cliffs, and a wide pebbly beach that feels cut off from the world, even on warm weekends.
If you have time to spare, pack your boots and walk along the cliff tops from here to Beachy Head.
The vineyard
Distance from village: 5-min drive or 30-min walk
The Rathfinny Wine Estate and Vineyard is a short drive (or, if you’re drinking, a fine walk) from the village centre. On south-facing slopes, it produces some of the best English sparkling wines (2018 is lauded as the vintage of the decade).
The estate is also home to the Tasting Room, featured in the Michelin Guide, and the Harvest Marquee Restaurant at the Flint Barns, which offers seasonal three-course meals under canvas from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Vineyard tours and tastings cost £27.50 per person, and the alfresco The Hut, with sweeping views across the vines, is open for walk-in guests year round.
The national park
Distance from village: 0 miles
The South Downs Way cuts right through Alfriston, meaning there is a catalogue of great walks starting from the centre of the village. About 30 minutes east you’ll find the Long Man of Wilmington, a giant hill figure carved into the steep chalky slopes of Windover Hill, and the Litlington White Horse is also nearby.
About 40 minutes south of Alfriston you will reach Friston Forest, an expansive if fairly young tract of beech woodland (around 80 years old), which you will share with trotting horses and mud-splattered mountain bikers.
The arts centre
Distance from centre: 10-min drive or 90-min walk
The free-thinking Bloomsbury Group met in London in the 20th century, but they had two countryside retreats in the vicinity of Lewes: Virginia and Leonard Woolf lived at Monk’s House in Rodmell, and Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived at Charleston, not far from Alfriston.
The house showcases a cacophony of artworks by Bell and Grant, who left their colourful and distinctive marks on just about everything – from doors and window sills to rugs and armchairs.
Whether you’re an artist or not, it is difficult to depart without investing in the miniature pots of pastel-hued chalk paint for sale in the shop, with grand visions of turning your house into a little Charleston of your own.