The Wiveton Bell, near Blakeney

The Wiveton Bell sits on Blakeney Road in the village of Wiveton, a mile from Blakeney and the salt marshes that edge the North Norfolk coast. It holds 2 AA Rosettes and a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is a reasonable set of credentials for what presents itself, without apology, as a pub. The garden looks out over the village green. On a clear day from the terrace, you can see the church across the meadow. It is open all day for drinks, every day of the year.

What it is

The Bell operates as a pub, a restaurant and a small inn. There are six bedrooms, each individually styled. The bar carries four locally selected guest beers alongside premium draught lager and a wine list the venue describes as carefully selected. The kitchen works from a menu built around artisan local suppliers — coastal favourites and seasonal dishes alongside pub classics. Breakfast runs from 8am until 11am daily, open to residents and walk-ins alike. Sunday lunch is a set piece: traditional beef, roasted Suffolk chicken, and slow-cooked pork, each served with crispy roast potatoes, buttery vegetables and a Yorkshire pudding. The kitchen's stated position is high quality but unpretentious — long lunches and what they call sumptuous suppers, without the formality that the rosette count might otherwise suggest.

The food and drink

The menu's emphasis on local sourcing is consistent across every part of the offer — the dining room, the Sunday roast, the Dinner, Bed and Breakfast package. That package allocates £30 per guest (£60 in total) toward dinner on one night of a stay, covering food only, with full payment taken 48 hours before arrival. The breakfast menu is available separately. The pub's own description of the food — 'menus that celebrate our access to artisan local suppliers, complemented by pub classics' — is a fair summary of the approach: the kitchen is not trying to be a destination restaurant that happens to have rooms, but a pub that takes its sourcing seriously. The Michelin Bib Gourmand, awarded for good food at moderate prices, fits that positioning more accurately than a full star would.

The bedrooms

There are six rooms. The fitout across them runs to Egyptian linen, goose down pillows and duvets, bathrobes, REN toiletries, aromatherapy oils, underfloor heating, high-definition televisions and Blu-ray players. One room is described in the venue's own copy as having a Farrow and Ball colour palette, an original antique king-size French bed, a Millionaire mattress, fine Egyptian linen with duck and goose down, and a fully tiled shower room with underfloor heating and Connock toiletries. The rooms are dog-friendly, as is the bar area. The venue offers an overnight dog package that includes a dog bed, towel, water bowl, toy and trail snacks. An upstairs terrace is reserved for overnight guests — the view from it, according to the venue, takes in open countryside by day and, on a clear night, a sky dark enough to see shooting stars.

The setting

Wiveton is a small village in the Glaven Valley, between Cley-next-the-Sea and Blakeney. The surrounding coastline — salt marshes, shingle beaches, tidal creeks — is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Blakeney itself is a short drive, and from there Beans Boats runs trips to the UK's largest grey seal colony at Blakeney Point. Cley Marshes, managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, is one of the county's most significant birdwatching sites and is within easy reach. Wiveton Hall, which runs a farm shop and pick-your-own fruit operation, is a near neighbour — the visitnorfolk.co.uk guide to 100 things to do on the Norfolk coast pairs a visit to the Hall's strawberry fields directly with lunch at the Bell. The pub's garden and terrace face the village green, and in warmer months the terrace carries views of the church over open meadow.

Packages and stays

Beyond the standard room rate, the Bell offers a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast package, a Romantic Stay package that includes dinner and a bottle of fizz, and a Sunday Special that pairs the Sunday roast with a half-price dinner on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast booking. A spring long-stay rate offers 25 per cent off for bookings of three nights or more. Corporate rates are available for business travellers, with the venue also offering meeting space and retreat packages. Gift cards and e-vouchers can be bought in the pub or online, in monetary amounts or as specific experiences such as Dinner, Bed and Breakfast; e-vouchers can be scheduled to arrive on a chosen date, including Christmas Day, or sent by post. The venue's aggregate rating across 1,900 reviews sits at 4.5 out of 5.

Christmas and seasonal events

The Bell runs a full Christmas programme. For 2026, the venue is taking newsletter sign-ups ahead of announcing festive menus, Christmas Day lunch, Christmas parties and New Year's Eve celebrations. The winter offer includes log fires, mulled wine and mince pies alongside the stay packages. It is worth signing up early — the venue's own advice is to get ahead of the festive rush, and the combination of a small number of rooms and a known local reputation means availability at peak periods is limited.