Driving from the Isle of Wight, we arrived in Crawley in the early evening on a Saturday, where we stayed at the Travelodge in the center of town. It was very nice that they had free parking in the adjacent garage. Crawley has nothing much to recommended it other than a central location for sightseeing and a cheap and pleasant hotel.
Because we would be having an elaborate dinner Sunday night, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to do any more driving for the day, so we went to the Old Punch Bowl, a traditional pub just a block away, that had gotten good ratings. The food was simple but good. We had fried squid and Nidderdale sausages to start, then a flatiron steak and a steak and ale pie for mains. It was all good and we had good beers with it. Total was about 52 GBP.
For Sunday lunch after visiting Chartwell House, we had originally planned on The Greyhound in nearby Charcott, but not knowing what time we would get there, I hadn’t reserved, which was a mistake as it’s very busy on Sundays. Nonetheless, we found that The Wheatsheaf, which is very close by in Bough Beech, had availability. Both are considered very good dining pubs.
We had a delicious appetizer of venison carpaccio, then both of us had burgers, which we requested to be medium rare and were informed they only do it one way, which unfortunately meant overcooked. They were tasty anyway, and came with cheese and bacon, but if they had been cooked as we wanted would have been much better. With beers and service the total was 73 GBP.
Finding that most places are closed for Sunday dinner, I had reserved at the Pass, which is in a hotel and spa called South Lodge. This was by far the most expensive meal of our 2-week trip to England and France.
The chef, Ben Wilkinson, received a Michelin star after taking over the kitchen just a year ago. The menu is a 7-course tasting for 145 GBP.
The total with wine and service was 400 GBP, the equivalent of $500. We liked it very much but whether it was worth the steep tariff is hard to say.
A full report on our tour of Sussex and Kent is on my blog:
