Best hotels for walking in East Anglia

‘A wonderful reminder of the delight a well-run, imaginative hotel can offer,’ reads one of many good reports of this family-friendly hotel with shimmering vistas over estuary and salt marsh.

Dedham Hall, Colchester

Readers paint an appealing picture of a stay at this characterful timber-frame manor house in deepest Constable country, where residential art courses are a big draw.

Talbooth House & Spa, DEDHAM

The Milsom family’s Victorian country house hotel in Dedham Vale, in the heart of Constable country, has been subtly rebranded with the addition of a spa by the pool house.

The Pier at Harwich, Harwich

Cranes, container ships, Holland-bound ferries . . . The views from this quayside Victorian hotel with its striking iron-lace balcony overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries, are ocean-going, stirring, never dull.

The Great House, LAVENHAM

The Great House has closed until further notice.

Morston Hall, Holt

Birdwatchers and bon vivants beat a path to Tracy and Galton Blackiston’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms in a flint farmhouse with Blakeney nature reserve on the doorstep.

Cley Windmill, Cley-next-the-Sea

‘In an idyllic spot’, amid 'reed beds on the former quayside on the River Glaven’, this five-storey, 19th-century tower mill is home to an unusual B&B.

The Wentworth, Aldeburgh

The first hotel to feature in this Guide is also one of the most loved among long-standing readers, as dependable as the tides that wash over the sand and shingle beach opposite.

Beechwood Hotel, North Walsham

Agatha Christie memorabilia, murder mystery weekends and Art Deco touches set the tone at this creeper-clad hotel, former home of doctor friends of Christie, in a bustling market town.

The Crown, Wells-next-the-Sea

At ‘a dream address on a square of Georgian houses overlooking a green’, this former coaching inn ‘feels busy, jolly, and as popular with the locals as with visiting guests’.

The Rose & Crown, Snettisham

As ringed plovers and pink-footed geese flock to Snettisham’s shingle beaches, lagoons, tidal mudflats and cattle-grazed salt marsh, so happy families and their dogs flock to Jeannette and Anthony Goodrich’s friendly pub.

The Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market

‘A fun take on a gallery crossed with an old boozer and a good-value one at that’, a former steward’s house in a 1,000-acre deer park is now an ‘anything-but-traditional’ pub-with-rooms, say inspectors.

The Dabbling Duck, GREAT MASSINGHAM

They have all their ducks in a row at this wisteria-decked gastropub-with-rooms overlooking the green in a village where mallards glide on old abbey fishponds.

No. 33, Hunstanton

In the only west-facing resort on England’s east coast, Jeanne Whittome's B&B appeals to those seeking space and freedom, without cosseting, live-in hosts.

The Three Hills, Cambridge

The Hills were alive with the sound of 'obvious customer contentment' when our inspector called at Chris and Sarah Field's pub in a village known for its Roman burial tumuli (the eponymous ‘hills’).

The Harper, Holt

You don’t have to blow a fortune to stay at this ‘relaxed yet refined’ hotel in converted barns, former home of Langham Glass, with many fun nods to its heritage.

The Three Blackbirds, Newmarket

‘If you’re after a weekend in the countryside, in a good-value, charismatic pub with excellent food, you can’t go wrong here,’ a Guide insider advises.

Sopwell House Hotel, St Albans

A favourite hangout of the England football team, the former home of Lord Louis Mountbatten is ‘well-run’, with contemporary bedrooms, cosseting suites, a good choice of eating and drinking spaces, and a magnificent spa.

The Saracen’s Head, Erpingham

Hidden down country lanes, Tim and Janie Elwes’s inn is in ‘a beautifully rural setting’ yet close to the North Norfolk coast.

The Pheasant, Kelling

In the heart of a sprawling estate of woods and parkland, this country house hotel is a relaxed, unstuffy retreat.

Bank House, King's Lynn

In a ‘fine waterfront setting’, this ‘distinguished’ Georgian building, and former bank is within strolling distance, along cobbled streets, of historical buildings and squares.

The Packhorse Inn, Newmarket

Gee’d up with a sophisticated steer, this inn in a former Victorian pub sits in a rural village near Newmarket, by a medieval packhorse bridge.

Magazine Wood, Hunstanton

In a swath of green countryside, Pip and Jonathan Barber’s chic B&B looks over the village towards the Norfolk coast.

The Brisley Bell, Dereham

Just the place for watching a Friday-evening cricket match, this 17th-century inn faces the village green.

The Old Hall, Ely

Entering the long drive up to the Old Hall, it’s hard to know where to look first; either to the striking tall-chimneyed manor house or the romantic views of Ely Cathedral over the Morbey family’s farm and woodland estate.

The Hog Hotel, Lowestoft

Walking maps and a picnic are supplied for the many glorious beach and inland walks from this hotel, restaurant and bar in an old maritime village on the Suffolk coast.

Anna’s House, Thornham

On the north Norfolk coast, Thornham’s saltmarshes and unspoiled beaches are a paradise for birdwatchers and walkers. Every bit as blissful, is this chic bolthole with a garden hot tub near the town’s artisan shops, restaurants and pubs.

Strattons, Swaffham

There is ‘an air of a chic curiosity shop’ about this singular hotel with café/deli, centred on a Palladian-style villa, up a narrow lane, where resident cats sun themselves on the front lawn. As the Guide went to press, Stratton’s announced it was being sold.

The Bildeston Crown, Bildeston

With its slightly wonky windows, half-timbering and sunny yellow paintwork, this 15th-century coaching inn, in the heart of a lovely Suffolk village, has a cheerful appeal that continues inside.

The Neptune, Old Hunstanton

It is 16 years since Jacki and Kevin Mangeolles opened their restaurant-with-rooms, inspired by the little places you happen on in France, run with passion by a husband-and-wife team.

Tuddenham Mill, Newmarket

The setting is pure Nellie Dean, with an old watermill by a stream in 12 acres of meadow. Run by chef/patron Lee Bye, it offers 'top-notch cooking' in a 'beautiful hotel'.

The Swan, Southwold

Bright and jazzy, this Southwold stalwart which has stood on the market square for centuries, has a hip, modern feel with a colourful sofa or two on stripped oak floorboards.

The Ship at Dunwich, Dunwich

Once a smugglers’ haunt, this creeper-covered inn is close to the unspoiled salt marshes of Dunwich Heath and the RSPB reserves at Dingle Marshes and Minsmere.

The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham

Gaze out to the sea and over the salt marshes from this 16th-century beer house, which takes in the changing landscape from its ‘spectacular’ location facing the north Norfolk coast.

The Victoria Inn, HOLKHAM

‘Perfect for exploring the north Norfolk coast’, this Victorian flint and brick inn on the Earl of Leicester’s Holkham Estate has been transformed into a genteel hotel and restaurant.

Number One Port Hill, Hertford

Filled with vintage glassware, chandeliers, mirrors and sculptures, Annie Rowley’s ‘artful’ B&B is in a Georgian house, featured in Pevsner’s guide to Hertfordshire.

The Westleton Crown, Southwold

Ramblers, twitchers and wildlife enthusiasts seek out this refreshed 12th Century coaching inn, on the edge of a common in a quiet Suffolk village.

Hotels not in the Guide that you may want to consider

Heacham House

Heacham

Overlooking the village duck pond, this B&B in a red brick Victorian house is a 15-minute stroll from the wide sands and salt marshes of north Norfolk’s ‘sunset coast&rsquo. Pretty bedrooms are supplied with bathrobes and facecloths, fresh milk and home-baked biscuits; a posy of garden blooms makes a cheery welcome. There’s home-baked bread, home-made granola, local honey and freshly ground coffee at breakfast. The enthusiastic hosts can offer advice from stately homes to seal safaris.

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Hintlesham Hall

Ipswich

One hundred and seventy-five acres of rolling countryside surround this Grade I listed country house, with opportunities for golf, clay pigeon shooting and boundless walks; treatments and a Jacuzzi in the restful spa. Characterful bedrooms, some timbered, some panelled, have four-poster canopy beds. Fine dining menus in Carrier’s restaurant make use of fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden.

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Best hotels for walking in East Anglia

Hotels not in the Guide that you may want to consider

Best hotels for walking in East Anglia

Heacham House

Heacham

Hintlesham Hall

Ipswich

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