Secrets Around Shottisham

When we wrote our Secrets Around Shottisham Trail, little did we realise that we’d end up having a small stake in the star of the show – The Sorrel Horse. Or that we’d find such a small village that had so much going for it. Serendipity!

Just a 15 minute drive from Woodbridge, you couldn’t get more rural, yet this small band of villagers had the guts and clear mindedness successfully to invest in the future of their local pub. Last summer, in a few short weeks, they decided to buy it and managed to raise most of the money to do so. The core investors put up the additional cash, pending selling the remaining few shares, and Shottisham hasn’t looked back. It’s an absolutely gorgeous pub, inside and out, and the new owners also had the sense to plan for reinvestment. The roof gets rethatched in May and there’s a craft weekend planned around it for the spring bank holiday. Here’s what the latest newsletter says about it:

Spring Bank Holiday 5-7th May
To coincide with the upcoming major project of re-thatching the pub we've organised a Craft Weekend which will allow visitors not only to see how the roof is re-thatched but also to peruse some visiting craft stalls. We also have the Morris Men visiting, plus a number of folk music groups are playing AND we'll have the obligatory bank-holiday BBQ on offer.

More details to follow in due course but do make this weekend a date in your diary as hopefully the pub won't need to be re-thatched for another 30 years !

Apart from the pub itself, there’s a lovely church nearby, and  a great playground, with plenty to amuse all ages, just behind. Great dog walks too and, as if that wasn’t enough, just down the road is a brilliant camp site – St Margaret’s Caravan/Camping Site.

The Camping site’s website is very comprehensive but here are a few highlights:

* £12 per night for up to 2 people with car and caravan, campervan or tent (+£2 on bank holidays and in high summer)

* £8 per night for up to 2 people with tent but no vehicle (+£2 on bank holidays and in high summer)

* £4 for electricity hook up

* Pets free

* Cute caravans for hire

* Hot showers, hot water to basins, flush toilets, covered dish-washing areas, septic emptying point

* Fridge/freezer available for campers to use and Calor camping gas available for sale.

* Hire of fire pits & sale of  wood for open fires on your pitch

* Hire of picnic tables

* Home grown organic fruit and vegetables, and home-made jams, jellies and chutneys for sale.

* Multi-coloured eggs from very free-range hens for sale

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I think I’ll have to rename my Trail – the secret’s out!!