[Sussex] Living in Uckfield?

[Live by the sea]

Uckfield always seems to me like a smaller version of burgess hill , bit rough round the edges but by London standards would be considered fairly middle class if you avoid the estates.

Not much going on though. If you want a nice small village to live near Brighton, Hurstpierpoint is probably your best bet, feels quite upmarket and has a reasonable high street .

 

[Official Old Man]

I live and work in Uckfield.

Generally it's a good place to live. Served well by both Tesco & Waitrose, a few decent places for grub - Cafe 212 is great value, but if you're a little more flush, Hartfields is good also. The cinema is excellent, it an independent, shows current releases & also offers alternatives showings of ballet & opera etc. It is also linked to the restaurant opposite so you can get good deals for a meal/film night out.

The High Street does have its fair share of Estate Agents, Charity Shops, Barbers & Nail Bars, but has a few good independent shops too.

It has a good range of take-aways, covering all of the usual from kebabs, fish n chips, Chinese & Indian. There are two McDonalds if you include the one on the bypass (which is 24 hours) if that's your thing.

As for pubs, The Alma is a Harvey's pub, The Ringles Cross is currently closed but should reopen under new management soon and The Station, near the er, station are all ok but not world beaters. The Highlands is good as others have said. Unfortunately The Brickmakers in Ridgewood closed last November & has just been bought at auction by the Hoogstraten family, so is likely to be left to go to rack & ruin before being levelled & developed for houses. There's the Cinque Ports Club & Uckfield Club which are members only - of the two I prefer the Cinque Ports, but am not a member.

The leisure centre is Run by the council under its Freedon Leisure banner & offers the usual gym & pool etc and also benefits from a floodlit 3G pitch. There is also a branch of Isenhurst on the industrial estate, a private members only gym, again with the usual facilities.

Diesel trains run from the station to London Bridge via East Croydon. Journey time of 1 hour 20 to LB - always guaranteed a seat to London as Uckfield is the end of the line! The 29 bus service runs through Uckfield from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton. There are also buses to Eastbourne.

Uckfield's biggest problem is travelling north-south & vice versa. You have two options only; either the High Street or the by-pass. Both are really busy at peak times, so it doesn't take much to cause huge tailbacks. With the building of new houses on the outskirts of town, it is likely that it will only get worse in the next few years. Free 3 & 10 hour parking in the main car park - the station car park is pay by phone & is notorious for fines being issued.

As mentioned before, there has been issues with a number of idiots who think they are gangsta's, but I don't think they are any worse than you get in many other towns. With no real police presence, they think they can get away with things.

Generally, I think it is a good place to live and me, my wife & 2 sons are happy here.

Summed up nicely.

 

[rippleman]

On of my godsons burned down around £5 million pounds worth of the high street, if that helps?

Sorry.

You can take the godson out of Croydon.................

 

[Audax]

Like cars and ducks?
Bentley motor museum and wildfowl centre is just a couple of miles towards Lewes

And closed to the public I believe, since late 2018.

 

[Norman Potting]

And closed to the public I believe, since late 2018.

Correct - you can still visit and ride on the splendid Bentley Miniature Railway and the Bluebell Railway is just up the road.

 

[scoobiewhite]

And closed to the public I believe, since late 2018.

Boo! I used to love it there...went to a great wedding in the grounds.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Boo! I used to love it there...went to a great wedding in the grounds.

That is a shame. Used to love going there as a kid.

 

[Mr Putdown]

You can take the godson out of Croydon.................

Unfortunately for the narrative, he is Sussex born and bred.

Maybe he caught his arsonist tendencies from having a godfather who supports palace.

 

[Home and Away]

Thank you for all the useful comments and information! Doesn't sound bad at all, as long as I remember to avoid the ASDA in Eastbourne!!

Btw, is the gym at leisure centre any good?

 

[scoobiewhite]

Btw, is the gym at leisure centre any good?

Don’t know about the gym but I went to some cracking roller discos there in the late 80s. It was called oasis then...wonderfully over optimistic!

 

[HHGull]

Don’t know about the gym but I went to some cracking roller discos there in the late 80s. It was called oasis then...wonderfully over optimistic!

Utopia?