Pub with rooms in Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk
Curator's notes:
Rooms from
15 doubles: £120 (winter); £160 (summer)
Good to know
Dog-friendly
Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar, and in annexe bedrooms
for a £10 surcharge.
Water and
waves
Stunning sea views and beach rambles make The White Horse the
perfect seaside spot.
Outdoor
adventures
Order a picnic, borrow binoculars and a birding guide from
reception, and set off to explore the wonderful North Norfolk Coast
Path.
Dine beside the saltmarsh
Summer marshside bar and garden kitchen serving food all day, from breakfast to seafood lunches and suppers.
A curvilinear room annexe between the inn and the sea is knapped in brick and flint, topped with grass and sedum, and softened by flower-filled terraces, all blending beautifully with the multicoloured marshes behind.
There are eight spacious, sea-breezy modern rooms here, all stylishly spruced up in early 2021. One has disabled access and all have a handy guide to this month's tide tables, so that you don't get swept to sea while rambling down to Brancaster Beach, alongside nespresso machines and all the mod cons.
You'll find seven more rooms above the inn, some with inland views and others with panoramic balcony vistas. Spruced up bathrooms are roomy and luxurious with feature natural soaps and lotions from Bramley. The 'Room at the Top' comes highly recommended, a split-level space high in the eaves with French windows and a telescope for gazing out to sea.
Depending on the season, local cockles, crab, lobster, oysters, mullet, mackerel and sea trout might all surface on head chef Fran Hartshorne's imaginative, seasonally changing menus.
If you're lucky and the tide is right, you may even spy Brancaster Staithe oyster and mussel-men, Ben and Cyril Southerland, hauling home their catch at the foot of the garden. The meat and game is mostly Norfolk-grown too, but dishes are enlivened by many an exotic twist: tempura soft shell crab, crab bhaji and Asian slaw; stone bass, saffron potatoes, sea beets, brown shrimps, lemon butter sauce; rose harissa and fta arancini, Romesco sauce and charred courgettes.
Good all-day bar menu; summer BBQ on the front terrace; and a cracking Marshside menu featuring delicious seafood cooked in the garden kitchen - potted smoked mackerel; dressed Cromer crab; crayfish and king prawn Caesar salad; and seafood platters to share. The bar offers tip-top local ales along with a well-rounded wine list, with 13 by the glass and half-bottles available too.
