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Spaniel racing, pea throwing and ‘dwyle flunking’: inside the UK’s most bonkers pub
On a sunny May afternoon, a man wearing bunny ears ties a string of raw sausages to his belt and sprints down a side street in East Sussex. The sausages wiggle and bounce off the tarmac, and – accompanied by whoops from the crowd assembled at the other end of the lane – a St Bernard, a Collie and about ten other dogs give chase. This is the Lewes Arms pub’s annual spaniel race. ‘No dog too fat or unhealthy,’ proclaims the event’s poster. The definition of ‘spaniel’ is also loose. ‘Drag along your old Labrador,’ the Facebook event suggests, ‘or corner a Collie – we’re not fussed’. The only stipulation for this day of ‘high-paced, canine-powered sporting excitement’ is that ‘the judge’s decision, no matter how vague, will be final’. Photograph: The Lewes Arms Coming upon The Lewes Arms, down a backstreet just a few minutes from Lewes Castle, can feel like stumbling into a quintessentially English fantasy. Inside, people take up positions in various rooms – front bar for the regulars, back bar for snug drinking sessions, main room for giant Yorkshire puddings – and on warm days, people sit on the pavement outside, clutching pints in what is affectionately known as ‘the gutter’. For at least 30 years, this nook has also played host to what The Lewes Arms dubs ‘idiosyncratic events’ – in other words, some seriously weird goings-on. When it comes to eccentric pub games, spaniel racing is the tip of the iceberg. There’s the World Pea Throwing Championship, so called ‘because we