The Packhorse Inn, Suffolk

Overview

Recently refurbished in 2013, the new-look Packhorse is a marvellous country inn with a stylish interior and bedrooms full of charm. With a big drinking trade, buzzing bar and gastropub-feel, this is a popular choice with the locals, bolstered by its prime location in horse racing country.

Despite its innovative menus and fresh culinary talent in the kitchen, it's still a local's pub at heart. Rugs adorn polished floorboards and the bar is full of leather armchairs to sink into with a pint of ale and the papers. The completion of four extra bedrooms, taking the total to eight stunningly chic rooms, has transformed it into a beautiful place to stay as well as dine. Eat alfresco at posh teak tables on sunny summer days in the sheltered side garden and enjoy the pastoral views across Moulton's vast village green.

Rooms from

Single: £85
Doubles and twins: £100

Good to know

Amex not accepted, Visa / Mastercard / Maestro all accepted
Disabled access
Parking available
Dog-friendly
Private and alfresco dining

Events and celebrations
The Club Room is the perfect venue for the regular wine dinners, "Meet the Brewer" evenings, shoot lunches, drinks parties and the occasional film night.

Outdoor adventures
Explore the gorgeous fields and low-lying landscape of rural East Anglia by foot or ask the inn to help organise a shooting party.

Family Favourite
Kids very welcome overnight, with cots and extra beds available. Smaller portions from the menu are available.

Rooms

The eight individually designed bedrooms ooze quality, comfort and style with no expense spared in the design, furnishings and extra touches. The four upstairs rooms are named after the surrounding hills, boasting big bathrooms with tubs and walk-in showers. Blue-painted Folly has a roll-top bath at the end of the bed, Plantation has a French-inspired décor and views across the village green, whilst Coach House rooms have under floor heating, walk-in showers, and access to the terrace.

The rooms in the ground-floor extension are named after four rivers which flow close to the village. Each has the wow factor, featuring quirky lamps, painted furniture, wooden floors, and brass beds topped with the best linen and mohair throws. Indulge in fresh coffee and homemade shortbread, and for breakfast, there's the full Suffolk or smoked salmon & scrambled eggs.

Restaurant & bar

With a menu built around creative modern British cooking, expect fantastic local ingredients, simply described menus and beautifully presented dishes. Food is innovative without being pretentious, with excellent bar snacks, classic pub staples, and imaginative main dishes. The focus is on local, seasonal produce, notably Red Poll beef and lamb reared in Moulton, Fordham pork, Elveden Estate and local allotment vegetables.

The bar may not be big but the choice of drinks will keep even the most serious imbiber happy for hours. Beer aficionados will find tip-top Woodforde's Wherry, Adnams Ghost Ship and Purity Mad Goose on tap, alongside local ciders and lagers. You'll also homemade fruit gins and vodkas, Fever Tree and Fentimans mixers, and a first-class list of wines from Peter Graham Wines, including 18 by the glass.

Things to do

You're not far from Cambridge here, so why not spend the day wandering the historic city or punting on the river? Told through the eyes of local foodies around the city, award-winning Cambridge Food Tour will take you off the beaten path. Either join a public date or arrange a bespoke private tour.

Six miles from Cambridge, Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum has a fascinating history and an impressive array of family-friendly attractions. The site's Farmland Museum includes a fenman's hut, blacksmith's and wheelwright's workshops.

Nature lovers can discover a secluded world of flowering meadows and reedbeds at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve, described by the National Trust as 'a window onto a lost fenland landscape'. Here, you'll find hen harriers and bitterns, dragonflies, moths and wildfowl. There are also herds of Highland cattle and Konik ponies.