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Reviews


March 2011
Places and Faces
A short break on your door step, what better way to make use of your precious spare time. Adrian Rawlinson sampled a warming winter night at The Ship in Dunwich

Nestled on the stunning Suffolk heritage coast between Aldeburgh and Southwold lies the village of Dunwich. Once one of the greatest ports on the east coast and the 10th largest place in England Dunwich is now a tiny village with barely more than 120 residents, a few picturesque offshore fishing boats and a friendly 17th century pub, The Ship; and it was to The Ship that Place & Faces headed on a cold Sunday November afternoon to take advantage of one of their winter break offers.

If you asked a group of people to describe the perfect traditional English pub the end result is likely to be a description of The Ship. Flagstone and wooden floors, a warming and welcoming open fire, fine local ales, fine food and somewhere to lay your weary head after a day of walks in the exhilarating east coast air.

The charm of this jewel in our midst is that it perfectly combines elements of old with new, backed with subtle quality and all done in a location that offers those staying there the opportunity to put on their walking boots and instantly shake off the shackles of 21st century living.

The Ship is part of a small, privately owned hotel group who collect beautiful properties much like an enthusiast may collect classic cars. The accent is on individuality and authenticity. You will not find bedrooms furnished from a corporate catalogue but from skilfully blended individual pieces collected from local antique suppliers, this sympathy with the past is then brought together with the best of the present.

Since taking over The Ship in 2007 a programme of refurbishment has taken place throughout culminating in the addition of three new rooms that opened at Easter in 2010. In total The Ship now has 15 rooms described as either “good” or “best” – the main difference between the two being size and or views. They have three family rooms and one with full disabled access.

Our accommodation was in the best category and was one of the new rooms added this year. Situated at the back of the pub, facing the recently re-landscaped garden, our instant impression of the room was one of freshness and calm. All rooms have new iron framed double beds and luxurious down duvets which, combined with the rhythmic sound of the nearby sea, ultimately led to my best night’s sleep in years. The en-suite bathroom had under floor heating, a full sized bath with rain forest shower and a beautiful piece of detail that wasn’t apparent until the morning, a heated non-mist mirror.

The refurbishment has been undertaken with a sense of custodianship and responsibility. Matthew Goodwin The Ships’ manager explained “This pub holds a lot of memories for people, we regularly have visitors who perhaps came here 40 years or so ago and we owe it to them to retain the feel of the pub whilst ensuring that we cater for all visitors new and old”. A lot of visitors are drawn to The Ship by its reputation for good food, a factor recognised this year by the AA who awarded the pub its first rosette.

When we asked Matthew to describe the pubs food without hesitation he said “Proudly pub grub” adding “we believe there is a whole world between gastro food and the much maligned pub food of old. In our kitchen we have two highly experienced local chefs who understand local produce and have a passion for the area. We use local suppliers wherever possible and are blessed to have the 2010 pig farmer of the year, Jimmy Butler of Blythburgh, on our door step and also Rupert Chantry who supplies our lamb”

We can vouch for the effectiveness of Matthew’s food vision having experienced both evening meal and breakfast during our stay. For our evening meal we chose the rack of local salt marsh lamb and the rabbit pie both were hearty, delicious and are highly recommended. In the morning the breakfast menu proudly offered local bacon and sausages which again were excellent.

The Ship is both family and dog friendly and the four legged member of our party was made most welcome.

A visitor to Dunwich with a love of the great outdoors will never be bored. The village is blessed with a series of walks that can all be accessed on foot from The Ship but one sight not to be missed lies in the pub garden and the winter months are perhaps the best time to see it. At 600 years old the fig tree at The Ship is officially the oldest known example in England, it is gnarly, magnificent and a true treasure.

After our briefest stay we found The Ship the perfect place to re-charge our batteries and will certainly return for a longer visit in the future.

Winter accommodation offers run until the end of March and also include special midweek breaks. Full details can be found on The Ship’s website.

More details

Tel: 01728 648219. Web: www.shipatdunwich.co.uk. Prices: The Sunday night stay promotion offers a 25% discount from The Ship’s standard rate. Good rooms are £71.50 and Best rooms £82.50. Prices include breakfast and are subject to availability

August 2010
Laterooms.com - hotel reviews
our overnight stay at the Ship
We have used the ship on a number of occasions for an over night stay and ,always found the owners and staff very helpful .
On our most recent visit my Wife had a slight disability, subsequently we were given a ground floor room which was a great help
R.Kellock
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