Contact Details
Lewes RoadBlackboys
Uckfield
East Sussex
TN22 5LG T. 01825 890283
About Blackboys Inn
The Blackboys Inn is an original 14th century coaching house set on a 13-acre site in the village of Blackboys just outside Uckfield.
Managers Jay and Natalie Dunbar make the most of the historic interior and generous supply of land to create a variety of spaces for their customers to relax over drinks and enjoy fresh food prepared from scratch.
A pretty route into the Blackboys Inn, at Blackboys.
In the summer there are sun traps, secret gardens and shady corners to find in colourful floral settings. Customers can be spotted following the sun as the day moves into evening.
Bed and breakfast is available, in five rooms, all named after Harveys’ beers. Four have mezzanine floors to separate bedrooms from lounge areas. Each has patio doors leading to an outside courtyard, and individual tables and chairs. One of the rooms is on one level which is great for accessibility.
A peep inside one of the bed and breakfast rooms at the Blackboys Inn.
Jay and Natalie have a lot of help in their award-winning gardens and are full of praise for Glynn who is constantly at work tending flower beds and hanging baskets and dreaming up new schemes for different spaces.
The couple themselves, who have three children aged 15, six and three, have started an allotment. They know they won’t be able to supply the kitchen with all the vegetables needed but they hope their runner beans will be enjoyed and that pumpkins will be ready for autumn treats.
Jay and Natalie, who is pictured here, hope that runner-beans and pumpkins from their new allotment at the Blackboys Inn will make it on to customers plates.
There’s an orchard producing more apples than the pub can use – despite imaginative efforts with fare such as Tarte Tartin and chutney galore – and that means regulars can enjoy scrumping. There are plenty of blackberries and strawberries too.
Jay and Natalie hope next year to open up one of their fields for camping. “We want to make good use of all the land,” they said.
Jay and Natalie Dunbar, managers at the Blackboys Inn.
On the menu at The Blackboys Inn are pub classics including, for example, 42-day aged ribeye steak with chunky chips, Portobello mushroom and vine roasted tomatoes; Harvey’s beer-battered cod with chips, garden peas and tartare sauce; and feta pesto and sun-dried tomato salad.
There’s the Blackboys burger too, served with cheese and chips, chestnut mushroom and spinach linguini, and much more.
Then there’s a specials menu which makes the most of the freshest fare available on the day. When their fishmonger at Hastings has a good supply of mackerel, sardines or Rye Bay plaice creative chefs will bring them onto the menu.
Most of the meat comes from Pomfrets butchers at Heathfield but it is sausages from Cross in Hand that have been selected for customers at The Blackboys Inn.
A popular resident on the Inn’s picturesque pond is Duck Dave who has moor hens as companions at the moment. Dave has managed to outsmart foxes by sleeping on the pond, sadly his old pals weren’t so canny but Jay and Natalie hope to bring more ducks to the pond in the future.
You can just spot Duck Dave on his island retreat in the pond at the Blackboys Inn.
Another view of the pond in front of the Blackboys Inn.
Major events featuring on the pub calendar include a spring cider festival, classic car rally, a beer festival, a fin, feather and fur event to celebrate the game season, and a Christmas fair where local businesses are invited to bring in, and sell, their wares.
There’s plenty going on each week too with open mic nights, quizzes and a games night taking their turn on Tuesday evenings.
This area at the Blackboys Inn is fondly known as the secret garden by pub managers Jay and Natalie Dunbar. It’s a great spot for a gathering of family or friends.
And here’s a close-up of the seating area you can see at the back of the secret garden picture.
For more information call the Blackboys Inn on 01825 890283, or email enquiries@theblackboys.co.uk. The pub’s website can be seen here: www.theblackboys.co.uk.