The Angel Inn

The Angel at Larling was Norfolk Pub of the Year a few years ago, and quite right too, for they get all the essentials right at this seventeenth-century coaching inn, which is not big, not clever, but just a great family-run country pub with rooms run by passionate folk who couldn't make you feel more at home. They rent comfy upstairs guest rooms while serving hearty and wholesome pub grub in the bar and dining room, and managing to maintain the function and feel of a proper village local at the same time. As a village Larling was somewhat messed up by the dualling of the A11 twelve years ago,  but the pub survived and thrived and is nowadays one of the most welcoming places to eat, drink and sleep for miles around. It's been in the Stammers family on and off since 1913, first as tenants and more recently as owners, when Brian Stammers finally bought the pub in 1994. It's now run by his son Andrew and daughter Lorraine (with the occasional visit from Dad to make sure they're on-message), and they haven't deviated too far from his original formula – good food and drink for the locals, and a welcoming safe haven for the weary traveller. They have five rooms of various shapes and sizes, a couple of which used to be Andrew's and Lorraine's bedrooms when they were kids. They are comfortable rather than posh, and excellent value for money, with en-suite bathrooms, TVs and wifi and hearty breakfasts that are as excellent as their lunches and dinners. A couple of rooms have been very recently refurbished and they're planning an extension which will extend one of the bedrooms and add valuable dining space downstairs – although we hope such grandiose plans don't change the essential, friendly atmosphere of the place, which is at its best during their annual beer festival every August. If the pub is full then you can also stay in the campsite they run across the road (open from Easter till October). All in all one of our favourite Norfolk pubs.