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The Moon & Mushroom – Swilland

Moon & Mushroom

Proper pub serving good, hearty, wholesome food. They’ve even won awards!

It’s a 16 Century free house, which means they have a great selection of local ales from breweries such as Woodfordes, Wolf, Nethergate and Buffys

Wandering in one cold evening to meet a mate for a beer I was greeted by a very nice barmaid who asked a question I haven’t heard for years; “Would you like a straight glass or a tankard”! So shocked was I that I went for a straight glass and when my mate arrived he opted for the tankard. As the other chap at the bar also had a tankard they ganged up on me and my beer was swiftly and cheerily decanted into a tankard. It’s tough out here in the country but that’s the sort of circles I move in and the decisions I have to make. Anyway, my pint of Dapper Dog was lovely

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Flatford Mill

Flatford Mill

Beautiful river walk with Tea Rooms & Museum – Dedham to Flatford or vice versa. In the heart of Constable Country

Ok, just about dipping our toes into Essex but it still feels like Suffolk and it’s only 20 minutes down the road from Woodfarm Barns and a real hit with many of our holiday cottage guests

Flatford Mill is accessible by road and has a car park. It’s owned by the National Trust so if you’re not a member, it’s about £3 to park. It’s also accessible by foot along the river from Dedham, which is a gorgeous 25 minute walk (pay & display)

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D J Wines

DJ Wines

Wine Tasting with DJ Wines – A Suffolk Winery

DJ Wines is a small, intimate winery set in an idyllic rural location overlooking the historic village church at Monk Soham, just 15 minutes from Woodfarm Barns. Here you will find Derek Jones making delicious hand crafted wines and liqueurs from local fruits. Edged by an avenue of cherry trees the building is only about the size of a tennis court, but he produces 10,000 bottles per year!

Being a winery only, no rows of vine will be found here as all fruit is bought in, mostly from local growers. He will take you step by step through the process to making his delicious range of seven wines, seven liqueurs and my Monks Mead. He uses a combination of traditional and modern techniques, many of which a home brewer will recognise, but on a much larger scale. The small on site laboratory helps Derek control quality. During the visit he will also share some of the more humorous moments and the many trials and tribulations of setting up, what many people claim, is a dream business

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Laxfield: The Kings Head (The Low House)

Kings Head taproom

Such a good pub they gave it two names! A proper old dog-friendly Suffolk Country Pub with fabulous garden. The Low House is one of the very few pubs left in Britain that has no bar-counter. You go in the tap room at the back. Beer drinkers survey the array of barrels and request whatever takes the fancy, drawn straight from the barrel! How good is that?

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