PubsPubs near West Marden, nearest first

The Victoria Inn, West Marden

The Victoria Inn is the village pub and the only one in the four Mardens. It is a free house, bought by a young couple in 2021, with a front garden looking to the hills, a log burner, homemade pies and Sunday roasts. Dogs are welcome in the bar but not the dining room. It has no rooms.

The hours listed in 2026 are Monday to Thursday from noon to 10pm, Friday from noon to 11pm, Saturday from 8am to 11pm and Sunday from noon to 7pm. Food is served until 8.30pm Monday to Thursday, 9pm on Friday and Saturday and 6pm on Sunday. On Saturday the kitchen opens at 8am.

Book a table for Sunday lunch: ring 023 9263 1330. On a Sunday evening the kitchen is closed, so eat early or cook.

Within four miles

Distances are by road from the village. The lanes are narrow, so the minutes are on the generous side.

• Coach and Horses, Compton: under a mile. A 16th-century, Grade II listed pub on The Square. It has been listed as closed long term since May 2024 and was for sale or to let in 2026. We cannot promise it is open, so check before you set out.
• Barley Mow, Walderton: 2.5 miles, about 5 minutes. A traditional Sussex country pub with a garden. Dogs and families are welcome. Closed on Mondays. Octagon walk 2 starts and ends here.
• Hare and Hounds, Stoughton: 3.6 miles, about 10 minutes. A Grade II listed pub at the foot of Kingley Vale. It serves food and welcomes dogs, and it is the one for after the climb to the yews. Ring 023 9263 1433.

Four to seven miles

These are the pubs for a short drive out. Book a table at weekends, and ring before a weekday lunch in winter.

• Royal Oak, Hooksway: 4.5 miles, about 15 minutes. A free house in a 16th-century house in a remote hollow of the Downs, run by the same couple since 1990. Two log fires, a large garden, dogs welcome, and said to be haunted by a sheep-rustler shot there about 1680. In winter it opens from noon to 3pm only, with lunches Wednesday to Sunday and no food on Monday or Tuesday. Ring 01243 535257.
• Red Lion, Chalton: 5.3 miles, about 10 minutes. A thatched Fuller’s pub and a contender for the oldest in Hampshire. Dogs welcome. Food is listed from noon to 9pm Monday to Saturday and to 7pm on Sunday. Our information dates from 2024, so check before you go.
• White Horse, Chilgrove: 5.7 miles, about 15 minutes. An inn with about 15 bedrooms, reopened after a refurbishment. Ring 01243 519444.
• Horse and Groom, East Ashling: 5.9 miles, about 10 minutes. A 17th-century inn with rooms in a flint barn.
• Three Horseshoes, Elsted: 6.7 miles, about 15 minutes. A Grade II listed inn of small rooms, with a garden looking to the Downs. It was sold in February 2026 and the new owner plans an outdoor bar and a wood-fired barbecue while keeping its character. Dogs welcome. Listed as open from noon to 2.30pm and 6pm to 11pm daily. Ring 01730 825746.

Further out: the Fox Goes Free

The Fox Goes Free at Charlton is often listed as a local pub. It is about 13 miles from the farm, around 25 minutes. It is a Goodwood pub: a flint and brick inn of about 1700 below the Racecourse, where the first Women’s Institute meeting in England was held on 9 November 1915.

It welcomes dogs, has rooms and serves food all day at weekends. Go on the way back from Goodwood, not for a quick pint.

From the farm

On your first night, walk to the Victoria Inn. Nobody has to drive. Every other pub needs a car and a driver.

Four of the Octagon walks end at a pub: the West Marden loop at the Victoria Inn, walk 2 at the Barley Mow and walks 3 and 4 at the Hare and Hounds. With a dog, book Barley Cottage.

If you would sooner stay in, each home has a full kitchen and all the main supermarkets deliver to the farm. There is more on our food and drink page.