10 - Viva Lewes

Photos by Chloë King
This is a story about time travel. It is also, probably
the only full-page food review I will ever write
about a pasty.
My journey begins online, perusing the Bluebell
Railway menu. The place always reminds me of
a photo of my grandmother and me drinking
fluorescent orange juice in the eighties, and these
catering options are already taking me back to the
days of Five Alive.
The choice of full English, fish and chips, ploughman’s
or a Sunday carvery sounds honest, but I
opt for ‘Rail and ale’, which has a whiff of mystery
about it. I pay for two tickets over the phone and
they arrive on the doormat the next morning,
along with a letter on headed notepaper that looks
terribly proper.
The directions and times seem so oblique, I ask my
dining partner to translate them, and together we
decide to drive to Horsted Keynes for the 5.30pm
train. The alternative would be a bus from East
Grinstead station at 6pm, to join at Kingscote,
which would allow for much more ale, but it all
sounds like a bit of a palaver.
Horsted Keynes’ filmic quality is clear the moment
we arrive at the station. The village website
declares proudly that it appears on TV ‘in one
shape or form almost every week’. The most recent
feature shot here was Woman in Black starring
Daniel Radcliffe, which is due for release next
February.
Impeccably clean and green, the station shows
off Victorian engineering in all its splendour, but
W W W. V i Va L E W E s . C o M
bluebell railway
Hunger on the Wealden Express
f o o d
without much of a smell. We walk through the
entrance, adorned with a garland of fresh flowers,
and are met by the chatter of our fellow passengers,
regular sorts who appear cheered by the
novelty of it all.
At the bar we exchange tokens for a pint of ale
each, and take a stroll up and down the sun-dipped
platform. We find seats on the steam train, which
leaves at 5.45 sharp, chugging its secret little path
through the countryside.
The on-board ale car boasts a selection of three
‘brights’ at £2.50 a pint, including Harvey’s Olympia,
Hammerpot Pale Ale and W J King Fool’s
Gold. This is the life.
We disembark at Kingscote, which with its gloss
paint and red geraniums is equally idyllic, and
there’s enough time for a leisurely cigarette - but
heavens not within the station - before we make
our way to Sheffield Park.
By the time we roll in, my stomach is rumbling in
time with the machinery. I find a table outdoors
and my friend joins the queue to get our grub.
What he returns with is a healthy portion of Cornish
pasty, chips and baked beans, which I eat with
relish as we watch hot air balloons float above us at
a distance I believe I could reach. This really is the
most magical pasty I have ever eaten, and at £22.50
it is also the most expensive. But combined with
the travel, free pint and the jazz band that greets
us at Horsted Keynes on our return, it feels like a
half-shilling bargain. Chloë King
Bluebell Railway 01825 720800
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