The Castle, Woodbridge

Official site of The Castle - www.castleinnframlingham.co.uk

This is a surprisingly unpublike building to outward appearance - more like something between a gatekeeper's lodge and a disused railway station converted to a cafe. This slightly cafe-like appearance continues inside, where scrubbed pine tables and small dining chairs make up all of the furniture, with the exception of a few stools by the bar. On the walls, some attempt at pub ambience has been attempted with the aid of some dead animals (boar, deer and pike - only the heads of the two first mentioned) and some old posters (the 1998 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe) and some framed collections of cigarette cards. At the bar there are three hand pumps, with just Growler Bitter and Adnams Southwold Bitter available when I was here, and I had the last of the Growler - there was not quite a pint left and I got it for the price of a half, though it was still in reasonable condition - testament to the fact that it had sold quickly. I quite liked it here, but still feel it lacks that indefinable something to tip the balance between cafe and pub.

Official site of The Castle - www.castleinnframlingham.co.uk