Nearby
Wainford sits on the River Waveney, a mile from the market town of Bungay, on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk. Here's what we love nearby, from the café across the road to the coast.
We checked every place on this page in October 2026, but things change: please check opening times and book directly with them before you go.
Across the road
Directly opposite the house and cottage, in and around the old white silo. No car needed.
The Silo Café
Opposite
The finest speciality coffee, in the old grain silo just across the road from the front door.
Secret Sauna
Next door · on the riverbank
A wood-fired sauna for up to five, perched over the water. Book a session during your stay.
Canoes from the bank
Opposite
Hire a canoe at The Silo and paddle away from beside the house. Add canoe trips when you book your stay.
Bungay
A small, lively market town about a mile away: a 25-minute walk or a few minutes in the car. Most of the shops below are on Earsham Street and around the Butter Cross.
Earsham Street Deli
Earsham Street · 1 mile
A much-loved deli with a cheese and charcuterie counter, a pantry full of good things and a homeware shop over the road. Closed Sundays.
Earsham Street Fish Company
Earsham Street · 1 mile
Fresh wet fish, smoked fish and shellfish, with advice on how to cook it. Tuesday to Saturday.
Thursday market
Market Place · 1 mile
A small weekly market around the 17th-century Butter Cross: fruit, veg, fish and bread. Thursdays from early morning.
Earsham Street Café
Earsham Street · 1 mile
Home-made cakes and lunches, with a courtyard garden. Monday to Saturday.
The Old Bank Tearoom
Market Place · 1 mile
Cakes, lunches and afternoon tea in a former bank, with the old vault still in the cellar. Now licensed, with sharing plates on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Bigod's Kitchen
Castle Orchard · 1 mile
Breakfasts and lunches in the café beside the castle ruins. The castle itself is shut for repairs, but Castle Hills next door is open.
Fisher Theatre
Broad Street · 1 mile
A restored Georgian theatre from 1828, now an arts centre with plays, music, films and workshops.
Farm shops & local food
Some of the best of the Waveney Valley is sold straight from the farm.
Fen Farm Dairy Milk Shed
Flixton Road · 5 min drive
A self-serve farm shop at the home of Baron Bigod cheese: raw milk, butter, cheese and yoghurt, open 6am to 8pm every day. Watch the cows come in for milking at about 3pm.
Vineyards, breweries & a distillery
English wine is made a few miles up the valley, and the beer is very local indeed.
Flint Vineyard
Earsham · 8 min drive
Our nearest vineyard and a favourite: guided tours of the vines and winery with a tasting, a cellar-door shop, a wine bar and lunches. Book tours online.
Chet Valley Vineyard
Bergh Apton · 20 min drive
A family vineyard south of Norwich with tours and tastings, mostly April to October.
Valley Farm Vineyards
Wissett · 20 min drive
A small vineyard near Halesworth with relaxed tours and tastings. Ring ahead.
Winbirri Vineyards
Surlingham · 30 min drive
An award-winning Norfolk vineyard with guided tours in the summer.
Green Dragon
Broad Street, Bungay · 1 mile
A proper town pub that has brewed its own beer out the back since 1991.
Grain Brewery taproom
Alburgh · 15 min drive
A Waveney Valley craft brewery with a taproom on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Pubs & places to eat
A few local favourites within fifteen minutes. Booking is a good idea at weekends.
The Locks Inn
Geldeston · 12 min drive
A community-owned pub at the end of a long track on the river, with live music and a garden on the water. Shorter hours in winter.
The Olive Tree
Ellingham · 5 min drive
A family-run Italian restaurant: generous pasta and good wine. Dinner Tuesday to Saturday; book ahead.
Source Bistro
Earsham Street, Bungay · 1 mile
Breakfast, lunch and dinner in the old Castle Inn, now a bistro with rooms. Wednesday to Sunday.
The Wherry Inn
Geldeston · 10 min drive
A friendly village pub known for good-value Sunday lunches.
The Queen's Head
Earsham · 7 min drive
A 17th-century pub on the green, home to the Waveney Brewing Co.
Walks & the river
The Angles Way long-distance path runs right past the door, and the Waveney is one of the best wild-swimming rivers in the country. There's an Ordnance Survey map in the house hallway.
The Angles Way
From the door
A 77-mile path along the Waveney valley that passes just down the road. Follow it a little way for a short stroll, or all day.
Bath Hills & Earsham
From Bungay · about 5½ miles
A favourite loop: along the river to Earsham, up over the Bath Hills, and back on the Angles Way. Tea and cake in Bungay at the end.
Outney Common
Bungay · 1–2 miles
Around 400 acres of common inside a loop of the river, with riverside paths and a popular wild-swimming stretch. Swim at your own risk.
Broome Heath
Ditchingham · 5 min drive
A heathland nature reserve with ancient barrows and big skies. Good for an easy half-hour walk.
Falcon Meadow
Bungay · 1 mile
A community water meadow by the river between Bungay and Ditchingham.
Bungay Loop canoe trail
Outney Meadow · 1½ miles
A 7 km canoe trail round Outney Common. Canoes can be hired from Outney Meadow, March to October.
Big Dog Ferry
Beccles Lido to Geldeston
A little river ferry between Beccles and the Locks Inn, about 45 minutes each way. Walk one way on the Angles Way and float back. April to early October.
Paddling further down
Beccles & Geldeston
Canoe, kayak and paddleboard hire from TheCanoeMan at Beccles Lido and Three Rivers at Geldeston.
Days out
Market towns, the Suffolk coast and Norwich are all within an easy drive.
Beccles
12 min drive
A riverside market town with a Friday market, boats on the Waveney and a heated outdoor lido open all year.
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum
Flixton · 10 min drive
Hands-on aircraft, cockpits to sit in and a simulator on a wartime airfield. Open February to early November.
Southwold
30 min drive
A classic seaside town: the Under the Pier Show's wonderfully odd home-made machines, beach huts, the lighthouse and Adnams.
Walberswick & Dunwich
35–40 min drive
Cross the river from Southwold to Walberswick for lunch at The Bell or The Anchor, then on to Dunwich for the museum of the drowned town (shorter hours in winter), the friary ruins and The Ship.
RSPB Minsmere
40 min drive
One of Britain's great bird reserves, with hides on the reedbeds and the coast. Some areas are still closed after the 2026 heath fire, so check in at the Visitor Hub.
Snape Maltings
45 min drive
Concerts in Britten's hall, shops, cafés and walks across the reedbeds of the Alde.
Norwich
35 min drive
A fine city for a rainy day: the cathedral and its close, the castle (its Norman keep reopened in 2025), cobbled Elm Hill and Cinema City.
Halesworth & The Cut
18 min drive
A market town with independent shops and The Cut, an arts centre in an old maltings with theatre, films and a café-bar.
Raveningham Gardens
12 min drive
Walled gardens and parkland on a country estate, open in snowdrop season and from May to September.
Time and Tide Museum
Great Yarmouth · 35 min drive
The story of Yarmouth's herring fleet and seafaring past, in an old smokehouse.
Africa Alive
Kessingland · 25 min drive
A safari-style zoo with giraffes, lions and rhinos.
For kids
Animals, rides, rockpools and rainy-day museums. Closest first, with a couple worth the longer drive at the end.
Africa Alive
Kessingland · 25 min drive
A big walk-round safari park: giraffes, lions, cheetahs, rhinos and lemurs, with keeper talks. Open all year.
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum
Flixton · 10 min drive
Real planes and helicopters in a field, with cockpits to climb into. Good on a grey day. February to early November.
Beccles Lido
Beccles · 12 min drive
A heated outdoor pool by the river, open all year, for a splash whatever the weather.
Fisher Theatre
Bungay · 1 mile
Family films, children's shows, workshops and a Christmas panto in the little Georgian theatre in town.
Carlton Marshes
Oulton Broad · 25 min drive
A big wetland nature reserve with easy, buggy-friendly trails, an outdoor play area and a café. Holiday activities for little ones.
Redwings Caldecott
Fritton · 25 min drive
Meet rescued horses, ponies and donkeys on the paddock walks. Free entry; closed Tuesday to Thursday.
Southwold Pier
Southwold · 30 min drive
The Under the Pier Show's wonderfully odd home-made arcade machines, then chips, ice cream and the beach.
Crabbing at Walberswick
Walberswick · 35 min drive
Bring a line, a bucket and some bacon, and dangle it off the bridges over the creek. Best in summer.
Norwich Castle
Norwich · 35 min drive
The restored Norman keep has battlements, knights and hands-on displays, with costumed characters and crafts on Family Saturdays.
Banham Zoo
Banham · 35 min drive
A large zoo with tigers, penguins and giraffes, and a new Minibeasts Room. Open all year.
Time and Tide Museum
Great Yarmouth · 35 min drive
Explore a Victorian row, a smokehouse and the old herring boats, with dressing-up. Good on a rainy day.
SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth · 40 min drive
Sharks, turtles, penguins and rockpool touch tanks on the seafront. Open all year.
Pleasurewood Hills
Corton · 30 min drive
A family theme park with gentle rides for little ones and proper rollercoasters for older children. Late March to early November.
Getting here & around
A car is the easiest way to explore, but you can arrive by train and bus.
- By car
- Pirnhow Street, Bungay NR35 2RU, opposite the tall white silo. Satnav can send you a mile down the lane, so look for the silo. Map ↗
- From London
- Trains from London Liverpool Street to Norwich take about 1 hour 50 minutes, then 35 minutes by car or taxi. Diss, on the same line, is also about 35 minutes away.
- Nearest station
- Beccles, 12 minutes by car, on the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Lowestoft (change at Ipswich for London). Halesworth, on the same line, is 18 minutes away.
- Buses
- Bungay has hourly buses to Norwich and Halesworth (First 41), and to Beccles and Great Yarmouth (Borderbus 580), Monday to Saturday. No Sunday service. Timetables ↗
- Walking into Bungay
- About 25 minutes. The southern route, past the Co-op, is mostly pavement and fine with a pushchair. The northern route along Pirnhow Street has no pavement at first, so take care, or duck onto the Angles Way footpath.
- Taxis
- Book ahead, especially for late trains. See the taxi firms below. Uber works in Norwich but rarely reaches Bungay.
- Flying
- Norwich Airport, about 40 minutes away, has flights to Amsterdam and a handful of holiday destinations.
- Electric cars
- Public chargers at Bungay Leisure Centre, St John's Hill. Zapmap ↗
Taxis
Licensed firms we found trading in October 2026. Private-hire cars here seat up to 8, so the full house needs two cars or Veezu's 12-seater. Please book ahead.
Veezu
Norwich · covers Bungay
Norwich's biggest firm (formerly ABC Taxis). Station and airport runs, with 6-, 8- and 12-seat minibuses for big groups. Book by phone or app.
J T Cars
Bungay
A licensed local firm based in Bungay, for trips around town and runs to the stations.
Goldline Taxis
Beccles
A long-established local firm for Beccles station, local trips and airport transfers.
Kim's Kabs
Beccles
A licensed local private-hire firm for short trips and Beccles station.
Waveney Taxis
Beccles · covers Bungay
Local trips, long distance and airport transfers, with online booking.
Diss Town Taxis
Diss
Meets the London trains at Diss, with an 8-seat minibus. Airport runs 24/7.
Express Diss Taxis
Diss
Diss station, airports and long-distance trips, seven days a week.
Essentials
Opening hours change, so check before you go.
- Supermarket
- Co-op, Hillside Road East, Bungay: a 10-minute walk or a short drive. Open until 10pm on weekdays. Also the only petrol station in Bungay. Map ↗
- Big shop
- Tesco, Morrisons and Lidl in Beccles, about 12 minutes' drive. Tesco ↗ Morrisons ↗ Lidl ↗
- Pharmacy
- Boots, 4 St Mary's Street, Bungay. Closed Sundays. Map ↗
- Doctor
- Bungay Medical Practice, 28 St Johns Road (01986 892055). Out of hours, call NHS 111 or go to 111.nhs.uk ↗. Opening times ↗ Map ↗
- Post office
- Inside Bungay Shopper, 2 St Mary's Street. Map ↗
- Hospital (A&E)
- James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston NR31 6LA, about 30 minutes. Or the Norfolk & Norwich, Colney Lane NR4 7UY, about 40 minutes. In an emergency, call 999. James Paget ↗ Map ↗ · Norfolk & Norwich ↗ Map ↗
- Deliveries
- Tell drivers you're “opposite the tall white silo” on Pirnhow Street. Map ↗
Every place on this page was checked as still open on 26 October 2026. Drive times are approximate. Spotted something that's changed? Tell Toby.