West Sussex, United Kingdom

The Swan Inn Fittleworth

Price per night from$260.78

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP195.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

The Swan Inn Fittleworth Photos

Style

Cygnet-ture timbered tavern

Setting

South Downs arcadia

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A 14th-century coaching inn, The Swan Inn Fittleworth has the bowed-beam ceilings and autograph-heavy visitors’ books to prove its storied credentials. Yet this polished pub with rooms is no museum piece. At its heart is provenance-proud pub fare and Sussex-sourced tipples. Bedrooms, including family- and pet-friendly options, offer refined rusticity, too. And the verdant South Downs are on your doorstep. Country lovers, take note. 

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A glass of local Ambriel sparkling wine (or non-alcoholic alternative) each

Facilities

Photos The Swan Inn Fittleworth facilities

Need to know

Rooms

12, including one suite.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates usually include a continental breakfast or you can opt for a cooked breakfast, for an additional cost. There’s a two-night minimum stay on Fridays and Saturdays.

Also

Unfortunately this historic stay is not adapted for wheelchair users.

At the hotel

Wellington boots, waterproof jackets and trail maps to borrow, plus free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, Roberts Radio, coffee- and tea-making kit, free bottled water, bathrobes and Verden bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Storied, rustic interiors charm throughout, but we like rooms 11 (Turner) and 12 (Woodville), set in the stables, for their extra lounge space and private outdoor terraces.

Packing tips

No need to bring wellies or trail maps — you can borrow these from the hotel — but weatherproof threads for days outdoors and an appetite for country living will serve you well.

Also

In the 1920s a charitable outfit was established to raise funds for children in need: the Ancient Order of Froth Blowers held their first meeting to enjoy ‘beer, beef and baccy’ at The Swan Inn.

Pet‐friendly

Up to two well-behaved pooches are welcome in rooms 11 (Turner) and 12 (Woodville), for an additional cost. The hotel can provide bowls, beds and treats, just let them know if you plan to bring your four-legged friends in advance. See more pet-friendly hotels in West Sussex.

Children

Welcome; two garden rooms sleep up to four, and extra beds and cots can be added for £30 a night for each child under 15.

Sustainability efforts

The hotel sources locally where possible, serves still and sparkling water in reusable glass bottles and the historic building is well-insulated to minimise energy consumption.

Food and Drink

Photos The Swan Inn Fittleworth food and drink

Top Table

We’re eyeing a spot beside the log-burning stove.

Dress Code

As you are; an English country pub is no place for sartorial ceremony.

Hotel restaurant

Comforting and hearty are guiding principles at The Swan Inn, where pub dining is celebrated with à-la-carte fare through the week and crowning Sunday roasts. The pub’s menu tends to roll with the seasons, and uses local produce where possible: Sussex honey and South Downs lamb, for example. Game, such as venison and rabbit, also stars, supplemented by imaginative fish and vegetarian options for the non-meat-eaters. And if you’re wondering — yes — it is wise to leave room for dessert; the Sussex Pond pudding with sugary lemon butter deserves your attention. 

Hotel bar

The low-timbered ceilings, open fireplaces and walls lined with sketches set the scene for sipping a Sussex-brewed selection of craft ales and crisp ciders, bolstered by English and Continental wines by the glass or bottle.

Last orders

Breakfast hours are 8am until 10am; lunch is served from noon to 2.30pm (3.30pm on Sundays); dinner is from 6.30pm to 9pm (8.30pm on Sundays) and drinks are poured from noon to 11pm (10.30pm on Sundays).

Room service

There’s no room service at The Swan Inn, but during pub hours, a pint and a packet of crisps are never far away.

Location

Photos The Swan Inn Fittleworth location
Address
The Swan Inn Fittleworth
Lower Street
Fittleworth
RH20 1EL
United Kingdom

You’ll find the Swan Inn Fittleworth on the South Downs, close to the historic market town of Pulborough in West Sussex.

Planes

London’s Gatwick International Airport is a 45-minutes drive from the inn. If you’re arriving at London Heathrow, your transfer to the hotel will be closer to 90 minutes by car.

Trains

Direct trains from London’s Victoria Station on the Portsmouth and Southampton line take just over an hour to reach Pulborough Station. From there, it’s a five-minute taxi journey to the inn (pre-booking advisable).

Automobiles

For a weekend away, you won’t necessarily need a car; but if you’re looking to explore more of what the South Downs has to offer, a set of wheels will come in handy. There’s no carpark at the inn, but there’s free kerbside parking along Lower Street.

Worth getting out of bed for

West Sussex has a bevy of pleasures to offer — indoors and out. Hesworth Common, on the edge of Fittleworth gives you the chance to get in your pre-Sunday roast steps, along heather-lined trails. The inn’s proximity to the South Downs brings easy access to rambling and cycling trails that’ll take you past postcard-pretty villages and over rolling hills. A glass of English sparkling at Tinwood Estate makes a fitting finale to a day on foot, especially when paired with afternoon tea. Arundel Castle’s grand halls hold centuries of intrigue, and its 38 acres of gardens nurture kitchen crops, follies and formal Italianate terraces.  Baroque gem Petworth House houses a healthy collection of Turners. Beyond its famed Festival of Speed in July and Revival in September, the Goodwood estate has a stately Regency seat which houses an enviable collection of art. Or you may prefer the more contemporary works of Pallant House Gallery in Chichester and Newlands House in Petworth. 

Local restaurants

Set in a 17th-century gabled townhouse, E Street Bar & Grill dishes modern British plates made with locally sourced produce, plus Sussex wines and classic cocktails. While we lament the lack of apostrophe at the Parsons Table in Arundel, you can enjoy bold, French-influenced dishes. At Wiston Estate winery, Chalk Restaurant celebrates regional produce and its home terroir in a converted barn, edged by a picturesque terrace that comes into its own on summer nights. 

Local cafés

At the heart of its namesake estate near Midhurst, Cowdray Farm Shop and Café tempts with a deli brimming with artisan cheeses, charcuterie, and freshly baked cakes and breads.

 

Reviews

Photos The Swan Inn Fittleworth reviews
Tamsin Scott

Anonymous review

By Tamsin Scott, Floral designer

The Swan Inn Fittleworth has been an established coaching stop since the 1500s, offering refuge to travellers for centuries. Its visitors' books, some of which are on display in the dining room, tell this storied tale: pages overflowing with autographs from artists and composers, including JMW Turner, John Constable and Edward Elgar. 

I can’t speak for them, but I suspect it was the seductive landscapes of the South Downs that drew them here. It's a timeless lure that’s still at play today, and what encouraged me to speed down country lanes in my best driving gloves to get here — that and a brocante I was eager to attend. West Sussex is the prettiest of English counties, and I say that as a resident of neighbouring East Sussex. The lanes, hills and serene sleepiness of the countryside as I made my way to Fittleworth were lifted from a period drama, and the village itself would make an ideal filming location. 

I checked in to the historic pub, which has been masterfully redesigned by Zanna Westgate, with pretty florals, roll-top baths, creaking attic rooms and coral accents. There were other touches I loved, too: the gorgeously scented Verden bath products, the supremely comfortable beds and perfectly positioned antique furniture, the Roberts radio and the quirky reads. These are the kind of rooms you want to hide out in, writing your memoirs and enjoying long, luxurious soaks. Tempting you away from your cosy room is the beautiful bar, with two fireplaces, and cake stands piled with gougères I couldn't resist.

Both my lunch and dinner were exceptional — I ate beetroot with ricotta, chicory salad, cod with mussels, homemade gnocchi with butternut squash, with sides such as straw fries and charred hispi cabbage. Seating ranges from banquettes in the dining room to a more formal area with panelled walls and paintings — or you can squirrel yourselves away in the bar with more of those gougères.

A nightcap by the fire in the bar is a must, and if you're peckish during the night, there's an honesty bar and kitchen on the landing. Breakfast in the courtyard the next morning was just as impressive. There are some dog-friendly rooms set in the former stables, and another secluded sitting room for guests to relax in.

Needless to say, dear reader, I wholeheartedly endorse speeding down to The Swan Inn as soon as you can. I loved it so much, I was back again two weeks later.

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Price per night from $260.78

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