The sleepier, quainter, more poetic neighbour to Brighton, Lewes is one of East Sussex’s loveliest destinations. Thanks to the Bloomsbury Group it’s had a rep as an arty enclave for quite some time – the best part of a century, in fact – and also as the home of one of the UK’s most bonkers Bonfire Night celebrations.
But there’s a whole lot more to this town. On this little roundup you’ll find lots of gems to uncover – William Morris once described Lewes as ‘a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of chalky hills,’ after all – from independent shops to state-of-the-art cinemas and arguably this country’s maddest pub. Read on for the best things to do in Lewes.
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This list was recently updated by Time Out writer Liv Kelly, who is originally from Sussex. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
Take the quick trip to Charleston, a rambling farmhouse that used to be the rural retreat of artists and writers such as Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Virginia Woolf. As well as evoking a long-lost world of interwar glamour, it’s a treasure trove of LGBTQ+ history.
Flint Owl Bakery regularly gets namechecked as one of Europe’s best breadmakers. Stop by the subway-tiled café for lunch in the courtyard (buttermilk fried chicken and slaw on one of its own ciabatta rolls, a falafel ‘sausage’ roll or a bowl of panzanella), and don’t leave without one of its sourdough loaves to take home.
Pretty much every town has a cinema, but Lewes’s has gotta be one of the grandest out there. Depot, which sits right in the centre of Lewes next to the train station, is an independent three-screen movie theatre which hosts a series of film festivals throughout the year. However, it also doubles as one of the town’s best places to hang out in the summer. Why? Because it’s got a glorious sun trap of a terrace out front – head here when it’s sunny for an al fresco glass of wine, or in the winter for cosying up in front of a cracking new film.
Taste your way through dozens of artisanal gins at Symposium, browse household goods at Freight and Needlemakers, or go full ‘Peaky Blinders’ at Darcy Clothing which sells gents’ replicas, from the sixteenth century to the 1950s.
Just a quarter of a mile from the town centre, Pells Pool shimmers invitingly. It’s the country’s oldest recorded freshwater outdoor public pool (try saying that three times while blowing bubbles), and although it’s unheated, the water can reach a balmy 20C. Fiercely loved by locals, it’s open to all – and costs little more than a cup of coffee.
Pub-wise, you’re spoilt for choice. Try The Snowdrop Inn, which pulls in a younger crowd with its range of Sussex-brewed ales and vegan sourdough pizzas, or The Lewes Arms, which has a winningly traditional feel and is has one hell of a community behind it.
Climb all the way up to the keep of Lewes Castle and drink in the view (while catching your breath). Work started on these imposing fortifications way back in 1066 - you can learn all about local archaeological history next door in the Barbican House Museum.
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