The Star Inn

Website: http://wenhastonstar.co.uk/index.asp Address:  Hall Rd, Wenhaston, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9HF Telephone: (01502) 478240

Between Halesworth and Blythburgh, about 30 miles north of Ipswich, lies the village of Wenhaston.  At the eastern end of the village sits another great dog friendly Suffolk pub, The Star Inn.  The pub is owned by Carl and Virginia who, since 2009 have offered a truly warm welcome alongside an opportunity to sample some excellent food and drink. These days, the profusion of food for sale may make us bit blasé, so it was unusual when visiting the Star how the quality of the menu just shone through.  The smells in the air were delicious and what really impressed was the care and attention that was put into serving everyone and sharing a spirit of fun. The Star is an early Victorian property with two large bars.  If you enter from the car park you first come to the public bar.  Its old, red, plastic banquette seating gives the place a snazzy 50’s shabby chic feel.  The main room is used as the restaurant, and leads out to the garden with its sunflowers crowding the windows and long, wide lawn. Dogs are welcome throughout the pub and whilst we were there, we saw a number of other hounds and their owners come and go.  Malli and Kopek, as usual, lapped up the attention from friendly regulars, and like us, were in no hurry to leave.   The appeal of the Star is in its unique mixture of village meeting place, and countryside getaway.  The pub combines a high class treat without being stuffy and with its liberally distributed ephemera, a curiosity shop open to all. Dog walks from the pub are plentiful, with the village of Wenhaston having a total of 5 heathlands and lots of public footpaths.  The village keeps and excellent website, on which you can find a local map and lots of info on the surrounding area.  In the middle of the village lies St. Peters church, and a national treasure.  The rather spookily named Wenhaston Doom is a painting of the Day of Judgement reckoned to be over 500 years old.  Preserved today, it graphically relates to the modern visitor the joys of entering heaven and warns of the privations of hell.  The people in the Doom painting are remarkably realistic and as you walk back to the Star you cannot help hear the quiet rustle of history amongst the glorious, countryside reality of today. Start to finish a trip out to Wenhaston and the Star Inn is well worth doing, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.