The Bell In Ticehurst Hotel

High Street, Ticehurst, East Sussex, United Kingdom

Outside The Bell sits a sign, pointing in one direction to a 14th-century parish church, the other to a ‘21st-century ding dong’. It’s a fitting summary of this seven-room bolthole, which looks like something from the other side of the rabbit hole. Located in an 18th-century pub, with an ironic, whimsical décor caught between Shoreditch chic and fairy tale, it does, in the words of Alice, get curiouser and curiouser: fedora hats double as lampshades and forks and spoons as coat hooks; a teetering pile of leather-bound books appears to support the dining area’s ceiling. A private dining room is furnished with a pink neon sign proclaiming ‘I will always love you my friend’ and a ladder doubling as a bookcase. Contrived it may sound, but in walking the line between pleasantly quirky and overdone, it lands firmly on the side of the former. It really is quite a lot of fun. Sound does carry, so when the main floor bar buzzes with locals on a Friday, you probably shouldn’t plan on getting an early night, but most likely you’ll be down with them in any case, sampling some of the posh pub fare. Truffled pumpkin tart and baked Dorset crab to start; followed by a simply dressed lemon sole, finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon, and Sussex sirloin with triple-cooked chips make for solid savories. A local cheese plate is the way to end. When you do retire for the night, you’ll find your room’s décor no less unusual than the downstairs, with features such as vintage clotheshorses, embossed radiators – oh, and birch trees, of course. Doubles from £90.