Cat Inn is a 16th century free house, with four bedrooms, set in the picturesque village of West Hoathly, a hilltop village set in the heart of the Sussex countryside. It is in within easy distance from the towns of East Grinstead and Haywards Heath and only 25 minutes from Gatwick Airport.
Sitting high on a spur of the Sussex Weald, the village is a haven for walkers, ideally placed on the Western edge of the Ashdown Forest.
The surrounding area is blessed with a plethora of attractions and places to visit, including Wakehurst Place, Borde Hill Gardens, Nymans, The Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park, Lingfield Race Course, Standen, Pooh Bridge and the Priest House and Museum in our village.
The Pub with its oak beams and two inglenook fireplaces offers a warm and cosy atmosphere in the winter, whilst our terrace is perfect to enjoy a drink and food in the summer months.
Being a free house we pride ourselves in the quality of our real ale, and concentrate on local breweries, such as Harvey's of Lewes and other micro breweries. We offer an extensive wine list and have a wide selection available by the glass. We are proud to offer great English sparkling wine and table wine.
Our food is cooked to order, using fresh, seasonal and where possible locally sourced ingredients. Our menus change on a regular basis and we also offer a small selection of seasonal specials on a daily basis.
We welcome children over the age of 7.
Dogs are welcome in the "pub" area of the Cat, they are not permitted in the dining room.
Where does Trenchmore beef come from?
It is local beef from Trenchmore Farm in Cowfold, West Sussex. Trenchmore is a small mixed farm. Predominantly grassland, we also grow some cereals on the better soil for both grain and straw. We harvest a 4 acre cider orchard.
What Breed is the beef?
Sussex and Sussex crossed with Red Angus.
Sussex is the local breed, one of the oldest in the country. Descended from hardy oxen, they are small, good-natured native cattle. The Aberdeen Angus is rightly famed for top quality lean beef and our Red Angus bull sires bright, healthy calves. The cross is a great foundation for succulent, tender beef.
Is Trenchmore Beef Sustainable?
Yes, we are members of the Sustainable Restaurant association.
All our cattle are born and raised on the farm in a high-health closed herd.
As the heavy clay soil is not well suited to cropping, most of our fields are used for grazing livestock.
We rear our cattle in a high-welfare system based around feeding nutritious grass. Our calves suckle their mothers until 8 months old. In summer they graze at pasture. In winter they are housed in an award winning Roundhouse barn and fed hay or silage with a few brewer’s grains, a by-product from two local craft breweries.
At harvest they greedily devour any pressed apple pomace from the farm’s cider orchard. They are watered with rainwater from the roof.
The finishing group also receive fresh barley-grass from a hydroponic system. This is a cross between turfs of grass and sprouted beans! It’s highly nutritious and produces soft, creamy fat in the meat, unlike the hard white fat of animals fed starchy cereals. This helps make Trenchmore beef especially succulent and tasty.
Why else is Trenchmore beef special?
We dry age all our beef for tenderness, with 28 days as our standard.
Butchery is done with great attention to detail so chefs can cook ‘nose to tail’ – offering an unusual variety of recipes with nothing going to waste.
Down a shady lane tucked between the hamlet of Furners Green and the famous Bluebell Steam Railway (not far from Sheffield Park) you’ll find the award-winning Bluebell Vineyard and winery – located within an area of outstanding natural beauty and the South Downs National Park.
The art on our walls has seen a new focus with the beautiful work of Paul Guthrie taking central stage at the back of the pub. It makes the whole area brighter. You can find more of Paul's work on his website www.paulguthrie.co.uk.
Address
The Cat Inn,
North Lane,
West Hoathly,
West Sussex,
RH19 4PP