King's Head  

A nice local pub at the heart of the community and not too far from the village green. Situated on the road through the village, you cant miss this pub as its on a bend not far from the old airfield where the 'gasbags' were developed.

A long low building, made up of a few cottages together and an outhouse come children's room, this pub has bags of charm and you can see why it has been regularly used by the airfield personnel in the past. Some way off the A140, but only three miles from Harleston, this pub has a single bar that usually serves three ales, and one named after the pub which is actually Hancock’s HB. Other beers were Taylors Landlord and, yes, you guessed it, Adnams Bitter. All were served without sparkler and were in tip top condition, not too hot and not too cold.

From the outside it has a small village feel due to the landlord keeping hanging baskets in summer. Inside, the single bar faces you passed some round dark wood tables and chairs on a red tiled floor. Some stools at the bar provide seating for the quiet times, though could cause bottle-necks at busier ones. Wine also figures highly here and there is a list above the bar - though all but 2 on this occasion were £14.95 a bottle. The decor in here is typical of a village pub - horse brasses and memorabilia from the aerodrome up the road where the RAF had their airship base in times gone by. There is even an old piece of wood from the OC above the fireplace which houses a wood burning stove (there is an air conditioning unit for summer). The bar has a few nooks and crannies off it and you can see where they have merged rooms to make more space.

The pub is a listed building so all has to be in keeping with the surrounding, so the beams in the bar are real. Food is served daily lunchtime and evening and all day Saturday and Sunday. The menu looked good - more restaurant than pub - but we didn’t try anything on the trip. The pub does 400 odd meals a week, but is definitely not a restaurant. There are some very cosy nooks and crannies to sit in.

A separate games room in an old stable block, plus the outside play area means children of all ages can be accommodated. Children are also welcome in the pub until 9pm if having food.

Get the landlord talking - it’s worth it. He is keen to stock local beers and only needs a good push from a local brewer to stock their products, e.g. If Ale Wife would only come back and offer some bottles to put behind the bar, he would bite her hand off. This looks like a good pub to try and sell your beers to. Well worth a stop off if in the area, or if you are near by.

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