Music and social
Bonfire pub quiz
A quiz night in the bar for teams of up to eight, with a glass of mulled wine and s’mores on the door. Over-18s only.
Thursday 5 November 2026 · 6pm to 10pm · £10 a head · Book ahead
Home / Vineyards / Sussex / Tillingham
Vineyard guide · Peasmarsh
Visiting Tillingham
Tillingham is a farm, winery, restaurant and hotel on a hill above the Tillingham valley near Rye, best known for natural and qvevri wines that taste nothing like the rest of English wine. Book the tour, stay for dinner, and take a room in the hop barn.
Tillingham at a glance
| Founded | Founded 2017, vines planted from 2018 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Natural, low-intervention wines, including qvevri and skin-contact wines |
| Awards | Upstairs at Tillingham holds a Michelin Green Star |
| Grapes | Over 20 varieties, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Ortega, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc and Gamay |
| Open | Bar every day from 11am; tours and restaurant dinner Friday to Sunday |
| Booking | Tours must be booked ahead; changes up to 24 hours before, later cancellations charged in full |
| Tours from | £40 |
| Food | Upstairs restaurant, dinner Friday to Sunday, lunch Friday and Saturday, Sunday roast; pizza in the bar downstairs |
| Dogs | Some rooms are dog-friendly, ask before booking |
| Children | No under-12s in the rooms or at lunch or dinner in the restaurant |
| Stay | Eleven double rooms in a converted hop barn, plus two bell tents from April to September |
| By train | Rye, about 3.5 miles, just over an hour’s walk on footpaths |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About Tillingham
Dew Farm is a mixed farm that goes back to the 13th century, 70 acres of hills and woodland looking over the Tillingham valley to Rye, the sea and the Romney Marsh. It belongs to the Peasmarsh Estate. Ben Walgate founded Tillingham here in 2017, named it after the valley, and planted 10,000 vines by hand in 2018 and 30,000 more in 2019, using bought-in grapes from around the South East until his own came on.
The vineyard is unusually varied for England, with more than 20 varieties ranging from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to Ortega, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot d’Aunis and Gamay. It has been farmed organically from the start and uses biodynamic methods alongside fruit trees, ancient woodland and livestock. In the winery Georgian qvevri, clay vessels buried in the ground, sit alongside barrels, and the farmstead has been restored to hold the restaurant, bar and rooms.
The wines
Qvevri Ortega is the wine that sums Tillingham up, an English grape made in a Georgian clay vessel. The orange Ortega and the Col range are good next steps, and there is a traditional method sparkling wine for anyone who wants something more familiar. Most of the range is still wine, much of it skin-contact or low-intervention, so expect cloudiness and texture rather than the clean, bright style most English wineries aim for. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Tillingham
Tillingham works best as an overnight trip. Tours, dinner and the pizza nights all cluster on Friday to Sunday, while the bar opens daily, so plan the visit around the weekend. Restaurant, pizza and tour bookings all go through the same online system, so you can book them together. The restaurant cooks with produce from the walled garden, the farm’s own pasture-reared meat and fish from the south coast. The Sunday roast is £40 for two courses or £45 for three. The biggest table Upstairs seats eight, and the private dining room takes up to 16. The rooms are in the old hop barn and have no televisions, and breakfast is included. The age rule is strict: no children under 12, babies included, in the rooms or at lunch and dinner in the restaurant.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine Tour A visit to the vineyard and winery with one of the team, ending with a tasting of four wines. Public tours take up to seven people. | £40 per person | About 1.5 hours | Friday to Sunday at 11am, 2pm or 4pm, depending on the day |
| Private Wine Tour The same tour for a private group. Book by emailing tours@tillingham.com. | £50 per person | About 1.5 hours | By arrangement, groups of 8 or more |
Book these on the Tillingham website.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Buy Tillingham wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
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Getting there
Rye is the nearest station, with trains from Ashford International and connections from London. Tillingham describes a 3.5-mile walk from the station on public footpaths, which takes just over an hour, or it is a short taxi ride.
Make a day of it
Rye is ten minutes away, with its cobbled streets and the Mermaid Inn. Oxney Organic Estate at Beckley is a few miles north-west, and Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard is about half an hour west, so you can make a day of the area’s organic and low-intervention producers. Great Dixter, the house and garden at Northiam, is close by too.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Sussex directory. Our other Sussex vineyard guides: Rathfinny, Court Garden, Bolney, Wiston, Nyetimber, Henners, Artelium, Ashling Park, Tinwood, Sedlescombe Organic, Roebuck, Ridgeview, Bluebell Vineyard, Breaky Bottom, Kingscote, Oxney Organic.
Questions people ask
Can children come to Tillingham?
Not to stay or to eat lunch or dinner in the restaurant if they are under 12, and that includes babies. Guests under 18 staying in the rooms must be with an adult.
Is Tillingham dog friendly?
Some rooms take dogs. Contact Tillingham before booking to check and read its dog policy.
Can I walk from Rye?
Yes. Tillingham publishes a 3.5-mile route on public footpaths from Rye station that takes just over an hour.