An eye-catching hand-painted pub sign marks your arrival at Piers Baker’s ancient butter-yellow inn on the Essex–Suffolk border, just down the road from rowing boats bobbing on the River Stour. The hub of the village, the ‘genial’ bar oozes ‘easy community feel’; it’s just the spot to people-watch across the ‘gorgeous elm bar top’, with a refreshing drink. In the next room the ‘cosy’ lounge is stuffed with a mishmash of sofas and armchairs, vintage books, board games. In the made-to-last 15th-century building (an Elizabethan staircase, timber framing), the decor is bang up to date. ‘Pleasingly decorated’ bedrooms (sizes vary, two accessed via the terrace) overlook the garden, the street or St Mary’s church with its soft peal. ‘Our well-lit, comfortably sized room had crisp linens, puffy pillows, a woollen throw; a vintage-style chest; a large skylight with window shades. We faced the beer garden, but no noise bothered us.’ Modern English pub food is given an Italian twist by chef Jack Levine. Try the spaghetti alle vongole; Dingle Dell pork cotoletta. Breakfast (‘exceptional’) has made-to-order omelettes, ideal fuel for exploring the gentle pleasures of Constable country.