The Buckinghamshire Arms
Blickling Aylsham Norfolk NR11 6NF
After a stroll through the extensive grounds of Blickling Hall, just outside Aylsham, the Buckinghamshire Arms is a perfect place to take the weight off. You could just drop by for a pint – despite its location right outside the main entrance of this grand National Trust property, it retains the feel of a village pub – but it's also know for its excellent food – and given it's run by the people behind the excellent Recruiting Sergeant down the road in Coltishall and Black Boys in Aylsham – you can be sure that it will be good. Certainly it serves excellent breakfasts to both residents (it has 4 comfy rooms upstairs) and non-residents, but it's later on that it comes into its own, with a range of regularly changing menus that feature well-cooked pub grub and more refined fare, alongside good local real ales and a decent selection of wines. They serve a light menu at lunchtimes – burgers, omelettes, ploughmans and salads, sandwiches and jacket potatoes – alongside more substantial dishes, and a full menu at dinner time, usually including a few specials. It's hard to predict what you might eat on any given day, but they always have steaks, burgers and fish and chips; they do a nice smoked haddock rarebit and Cromer crab salad; and in the evening you might also find local lobster, pan-fried stone bass fillet or baked monkfish, among less exotic items. One of our local favourites – ad it also has four comfy rooms upstairs if you're tempted to stay a little longer.
