The Dabbling Duck

Norfolk
Inn
+44 (0)1485 520827
Visit owner's website

From
£100 - £200
per night

Atmospheric English pub with rooms by the green with its duck ponds in a pretty village, with walking and cycling routes to join

Bedroom

13 rooms

Sleeps

Rooms sleep 2

Children welcome
Pets welcome

£100 - £200 per night

The Experience

Join the locals propped around the bar with a real ale or their own brand gin, or book a table to sample gourmet pub food. If you sit in the garden on Friday and Saturday evenings in summer you can have pizza from the wood-fired oven in the Garden Barn.

Find a communal hallway with books and a sofa and bedrooms upstairs or in Barrack House next door, very smartly refurbished and with its own kitchen and sitting room. All rooms have homemade biscuits and dogs are welcome in some. A varied breakfast menu is served at separate tables in a high-ceilinged room called The Library – pancakes, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage sandwiches, full English with sausages and bacon from the local butcher.

The Peddars Way walking and cycling route runs past the back of the pub, and you’re ten minutes’ drive from Sandringham, Castle Rising and Houghton Hall and Gardens. The coast at Hunstanton and bird-rich salt marshes are close.

The Dabbling Duck - Gallery

We think you'll love

  • Having pizza and listening to live music in the Garden Barn in summer
  • The quintessential English village pub atmosphere
  • Having long walks in the countryside, coming back for lovely food
The Dabbling Duck - Gallery

You should know

  • Stairs to the bedrooms upstairs in the pub are steep
  • It's best to book a table in the restaurant at busy times
  • Dogs are charged at £10 per stay

Essentials

  • EV charger
  • Swimming pool
  • Hot tub
  • Garden
  • Open fire / woodburner
  • Breakfast included
  • Breakfast available
  • Meals available
  • Vegetarian meals
  • Parking on premises
  • Free parking nearby
  • Accessible by public transport
  • WiFi
  • Spa
  • Central heating
  • Limited mobility
  • Wheelchair access
  • Mobile reception
  • Hob
  • Bar
  • Barbecue
  • Licensed premises
  • Paid parking nearby
  • Air conditioning
  • Relaxation areas
  • Tennis court
  • No smoking
  • Credit cards
  • Working farm
  • Owner has pets
  • Pets welcome

Family friendly

  • Baby monitor
  • Books and toys
  • Children welcome
  • Babies welcome
  • Stair gates
  • High chair
  • Fire guard
  • Cot available

Nearby

  • Pub/bar within 3 miles
  • Restaurant within 3 miles
  • Shop within 3 miles

Activities

  • Bikes available
  • Food courses
  • Kayaking
  • Other courses
  • Sailing
  • Surfing
  • Wild swimming

Accommodation

Pricing

Nightly price
from £100
Surcharges
Z-bed £20.
13 Twin/doubles
From £100

Information

Booking information

Other details
Pets by arrangement.
Closed
Never.
Owner has pets
Animals living on the property
Dogs

Maximum 2 dogs. Allowed in selected rooms only. Treats on the bar. £10

Meals
Lunch from £5.75. Bar meals from £5. Dinner from £10.

Reviews

Comfortable attractive room, super breakfast and dinner. In a lovely village.

Adrian, Enfield

Distinctive cream and duck-egg blue pub by the village green, rescued with style and panache by local farmers in 2006. Expect a laid-back feel to the country-rustic interior, a passion for local produce on eclectic menus, pizzas from the wood-fired oven in the Garden Barn, and fabulous rooms, the best in Barrack House next door. A cracking inn offering peace and quiet away from the coastal throng.

David, Sawday's Inspector

A lovely authentic old pub in a picture-perfect location. Fabulous food, very comfortable rooms and a friendly team who couldn't have made us feel more welcome. A real find.

Catherine, Huddersfield

A picture perfect pub in the middle of a pretty Norfolk village; an oasis for hungry and thirsty hikers or cyclists or those wanting a peaceful break in this quintessential English pub. An innovative menu, local beers and ciders as well as 25 gins; one of their own - The Muddy Duck, served in atmospheric rooms. A log burner in winter and outside seating in summer in the BBQ area. Local produce too.

Sarah, Sawday's inspector

Very enjoyable stay. Staff really friendly and helpful and a special mention should be made of the delicious breakfast menu. The Pub is ideally located for the various historical houses and the coast. We hope to visit again.

Jean, Colchester

Lovely quiet location. Good choice of beers,ciders & wine. Our room was tastefully furnished, although I thought the cheap white paper light shade an odd choice. Loved the bathroom; the shower over the bath easy to use. I found the bed very comfortable although my husband thought it was too soft. Superb cooked breakfasts. We ate dinner there both evenings and found the food to be a very high standard. Friendly staff. Would certainly like to return.

Jackie

Friendly staff & locals, welcoming, warming, lovely wood burning stoves, superb food, brilliant weekend & our dog loved her walks & the sausages!

Rosie

Read more reviews

Location

The neighbourhood

Walking and cycling from the door is straight into lovely, quiet countryside. Sandringham is open to visitors at certain times; Norfolk Lavender is nearby for the gardens and a visit to the lavender oil distillery and gift shop. Houghton Hall is a Palladian mansion in vast parklands and RSPB Nature Reserve at Titchwell has trails to spot ducks, waders, geese and seabirds among others.

Local points of interest from Dominic Symington, David & Steve Killham

  • Massingham Airfield which was home to a number of RAF Bomber Squadrons during the Second World War, the three bedrooms in the Dabbling Duck have been named after pilots who were stationed there.The airfield is still used today for small aircraft!
  • It is possible that the origins of Gt. Massingham date back as far as the 5th Century AD when the area was inhabited in the wake of the Roman withdrawal, by a group of Angles and Saxons whose leader’s name was Maesron. The settlers were known as Maersings,
  • We are situated 10 minuets from Sandringham, One of the Queens favourite residences, she spends Christmas here every year, and you can see her arrive for church on Christmas morning.
  • We are very near to the most stunning and diverse beaches, we have cliffs, marshes and wide open sandy beaches. What more could you want ?
  • We have a well recognised range of local ales, and a fabulous gin menu as well as a carefully selected wine list.
  • Two of the owners of the The Dabbling Duck are farmers, and during shooting season a lot of the game is brought to us at the pub and put straight on the menu.

Introducing

Dominic Symington, David & Steve Killham

When the pub, then called the Rose & Crown, was going to be sold to developers in 2006, two local farmers stepped in to save it. The third owner, Mark, manages the pub with his wife Sally. They are both very friendly and welcoming, and you'll probably meet their black Labrador Doris in the bar.