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Discover: Buxhall

Pubs and Restaurants:

The Crown – Buxhall IP14 3DW – www.thebuxhallcrown.co.uk – 01449 736521

The Crown is situated in the small village of Buxhall just outside Stowmarket. The pub has a good reputation for preparing all its own food, even down to the homemade bread and ice cream! – Please check on Google but it is temporarily closed and awaiting a new owner.

 

The Dog – Norton IP31 3LP – www.thenortondog.com – 01359 230440

All day opening, seasonal menu, daily specials and an extensive wine list, you can enjoy good food from local, regional suppliers. The menu also changes regularly. An open fire, oak beams and furnishings compliment the traditional 17th century building, creating a warm cosy feel.

The Leaping Hare – Wyken Vinyard  IP31 2DW – www.wykenvineyards.co.uk – 01359 250287

Where possible they try to source ingredients from within a five mile radius, so the beef and lamb are local and where possible from the Wyken farm. Wild game, venison, pheasant, partridge, rabbit and pigeon are from the estate and fruit, herbs and vegetables from the kitchen garden.

The restaurant is all part of Wyken Vinyards and you can also visit their Farmers market, shops and sample their excellent own wines

 

Pea Porridge – Bury St Edmunds IP33 1JR – www.peaporridge.co.uk – 01284 700200

Pea Porridge is a Michelin award winning restaurant set in a quiet residential street in Bury St Edmunds. The restaurant has a wonderful warm rustic feel to it, very down to earth and unpretentious and the food is delicious!

 

The Crown – Bildeston, IP7 7EB – www.thebildestoncrown.com – 01449 740510

A real treat located in the heart of Suffolk’s picturesque countryside, close to the wool towns of Lavenham and Hadleigh. It is an original 15th century coaching inn which was imaginatively renovated and refurbished in 2003. The Crown offers fine food in splendid beamed surroundings either in the bar or in its stunning restaurant.

 

The Butt & Oyster – Ipswich IP9 1JW – www.debeninns.co.uk/buttandoyster – 01473 780764

The Butt & Oyster at Pin Mill is right on the picturesque harbour on the Orwell Estuary. An atmospheric pub with lots of great seafood and lovely walks. The Suffolk Barns and Jimmy’s Farm are so close this really is a good day out. There is a window on the river side of the pub where the boats can moor up and order a pint from the bar!

 

The Swan – Woolpit IP30 9QN – www.woolpitswan.co.uk – 01359 240482

An old coaching inn in the village square. Good food from daily changing blackboard menu and Adnams beer served from a slate top bar.  Enjoy a glass of wine in the walled garden on a summers evening.

Other excellent pubs are:

The Brewers in Rattlesden

The Kings arms in Haughley

Crown in Stowupland

Chestnut horse in Great Finborough

Farm shops/local produce:

Grange Farm – Woolpit

Punchards Farm, for Aberdeen Angus beef – High Town Green, Rattlesden

Spikes Egg Shed, for eggs!  –  Buxhall

 

Car boot sale:

Woolpit, Sunday 6am-noon

 

Vinyard, Garden, Restaurant and Saturday Farmers Market:

Wyken Farm (10 miles, 20 minute drive)

 

Activities:

Fishing – Bakers Puddle, Buxhall IP14 3DW – 01449 736761 – bakerspuddle.co.uk

Golf – Stowmarket Golf Club, IP14 3DA – 01449 736473 – stowmarketgolfclub.co.uk

Flying – Rattlesden Flying Club, IP30 0PT – ratair.org.uk

 

Fetes:

June, July and August are the months to visit if you like village fetes

 

Walks:

 

Walk to the Buxhall Crown (30 minutes each way):

Walk on footpaths through the fields and along wooded paths to the Buxhall Crown pub and restaurant. If the weather is good, there is a pretty outside area to sit.

Walk to Three Church View (40 minutes round trip):

Views of:

St Andrew’s Church, Great Finborough

St Mary’s, Buxhall

King Charles the Martyr, Shelland

Walk to King Charles the Martyr, Shelland (80 minute round trip):

Walk to the picturesque church, set on a hill with views over the surrounding countryside and see the rare Barrel organ (made in 1810) which has three wooden barrels, each with 12 tunes, the only one in regular use) and buy a pot of homemade jam.

 

Cycle routes:

Suffolk has the perfect terrain for cycling! Mostly flat with gentle rolling hills and charming small tree lined roads along farming and wooded countryside, interspersed with small market towns and villages.

For more information visit:

Stowmarket and District Cyclng Club – stowcc.com

 

Useful information, opening hours and numbers

Woolpit Garage and Petrol Station – IP30 9QT – 01359 244050

Woolpit Co-op – IP30 9SA – 01359 240322 – Mon-Sat 6am-9pm – Sun 8am-4pm

Woolpit Fish and Chip shop – IP30 9QH – 01359 240278

Stowmarket – Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl

Bury St Edmunds – Waitrose and the above

Woolpit Complementary – for massage, reflexology etc – IP30 9QS – 01359 408011

Rattlesden Village Shop and Post Office – IP30 0RL – 01449 736199 – Mon-Fri 9am-1pm – Sat 9am-12.30pm

 

Local Towns and Villages:

Bury St Edmunds (12 miles, 20 minutes drive) –

An important town in East Anglia and once home to the most powerful monastery of medieval England. The town and suburbs were originally established to service the abbey. Now Bury St Edmunds survives as a prosperous town and borough. Visit the street market on Wednesday and Saturday, or go for the good shops and restaurants. Take a guided walk of the pretty pedestrianised town centre along streets flanked by pretty medieval buildings. There are a variety of fairs and festivals throughout the year, an Arts Festival in May, Food and Drink in August and a Christmas Fayre in December. Have a tour of the Greene King Brewery which produces the local beer. There are plenty of things to see and do in this pretty historic town.

Stowmarket (3.5 miles, 9 minutes drive) –

Stowmarket grew as a market town and has a railway station with good connections to London Liverpool Street and Cambridge. There is a street market throughout the day every Thursday and Saturday. The John Peel Centre for Creative Arts has a regular programme of music, comedy and theatre. There is a cinema to catch the latest film release. The Museum of East Anglian Life set in the heart of Stowmarket, on a 75 acre estate, gives an insight into the history and rural life in the region.

Rattlesden (2 miles, 5 minutes drive) –

The prominent flint church sits overlooking the village. There is a post office with a small shop useful for picking up a pint of milk. It is a lovely small village to take a walk around and see the charming thatched cottages and medieval buildings. Have a pint in the local pub!

Lavenham (11 miles, 24 minutes drive) –

Lavenham is a Suffolk wool town. It is a picturesque town lined with medieval timber framed buildings and excellent restaurants. Visit the Natural Trust Guildhall Corpus Christi, an impressive timber framed building overlooking the Market Place. The Little Hall, a yellow beamed 14th C house is also an interesting place to visit.