TUDDENHAM MILL
Restored Suffolk watermill with sleek and chic interiors.
SET BESIDE SLEEPY MEADOWS and a mill pond, Tuddenham Mill is a picture of rural Suffolk tranquillity. But behind those 200-year-old timbered walls, this rustic looking boutique hotel
oozes metropolitan chic.
Step inside, and all is minimalist cool. Think weathered beams and sleek glass, lofty ceilings and vast beds, Italian pendolino lights and cubist sofas. Bedrooms flaunt
curved Castello baths for two, while bathrooms gleam with chrome and oversized showers.
Late lunchers were still enjoying a post-prandial chaser on the sunny terrace outside the bar on the afternoon we arrived. A pair of swans were gliding across the millpond, while a heron flapped slowly across the bank opposite. It’s a
picture of English rusticity, and kingfishers and deer are often spotted here.
Hit the spot
Minutes from the horse racing town of Newmarket.
Bedtime
Splash out on a lavish Loft suite for the biggest treat – a vast balconied room with a shell-shaped bathtub for two by the bed.
Be savvy
Rooms in the Mill House may have some traffic noise. For the quietest kip, choose a Water Meadow room or a Loft suite in the grounds.
Be smitten
Mill with the mostest.
Lavish loft suites
Understated colours – charcoal, taupe and stone – are set off with
bold modern art and snowy bed linen. We loved our toasty fireplace inset in the wall, the huge windows framing tall trees and Suffolk pastures, and the giant sofa.
Our west-facing Loft suite had a
sun-dappled terrace where we sipped a glass of vino watching the sun sink behind the fenlands, before sinking ourselves beneath the suds in our
giant shell-shaped bath and – the ultimate decadence – watching the end of a movie on our widescreen telly. There was even a telescope for some serious star gazing.
It’s the little touches that add the big Tuddenham Mill pamper factor. Baths are stocked with
super-sized Jo Malone toiletries, which guests are urged to take home. There’s a fridge stocked with fresh orange juice and chilled Chablis, a decanter of sloe gin, home-made fudge next to the ready-to-brew fresh coffee, and a Missoni dressing gown to snuggle into while playing chilled sounds on the Bose sound system.
Tuddenham Mill’s Four Loft suites offer the max in space and comfort. Standard Water Meadow rooms – many having double-ended baths – are also generously sized,
opening on to a terrace area with open fields beyond. Rooms in the original Mill House have plenty of space and wood-beamed character, though are nearest the road so could be a tad noisy.
Tuddenham Mills
sleek-n’-chic restaurant matches beamed ceilings and bare brick walls with smart furnishings in black and bitter chocolate. The original giant water wheel is now encased in glass as a reminder of the building’s industrial past. Sit by the window and watch the swans change colour as changing lights flicker over the water after dark.
Don’t want to dress for dinner? No worries – accommodating staff will happily serve
supper or breakfast in your room. This is a place made for indulgence.
Tuddenham Mill was reviewed for
Room for Romance by
Mairiona Cotter
Click on any picture to enlarge it and move through the gallery.
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Dining in
Chef Gordon McNeill is passionate about cooking – and it shows. Guests enjoy imaginative modern European fare that ranges from
ravioli of rare breed Suffolk pig cheek to an assiette of lamb with a mini Shepherd’s pie, char grilled cutlet, slow-cooked shank and
roast canon with Adnams beer and marjoram gravy. Finish off (though it may finish you!) with the chocolate box of desserts.
Seven-course taster menus – bookable in advance – can be tailored to your tastes. Breakfasts at Tuddenham Mill are also de-lish and well worth getting up for.
Dining out
The Olde Bull Inn at Barton Mills serves excellent pub fare. Be sure to quaff a pint first in the Nutshell, Britain’s smallest hostelry, at Bury St Edmunds.
Where?
Tuddenham Mill
What’s cooking?
Carpaccio of lime and pink peppercorn pressed monkfish followed by grilled sea bass with a ham hock and green pea risotto, and an orange and green pepper salsa. Yummy desserts include a wicked baked Alaska.
Top table?
One of the window tables looking directly over the Mill pond.
See & Do
Nearby Newmarket is the home of horse racing, so get into the stirrups with a day at the races, a visit the National Stud or the National Horseracing Museum. It’s also possible to visit training yards, gallops and bloodstock sales to watch Britain’s most expensive hooves go under the hammer.
Bury St Edmunds has its famous abbey, and is also home to both the Greene King brewery and to the Nutshell – Britain’s smallest pub. See the historic colleges and go punting or picnicking on the river in Cambridge. Ely has its stunning cathedral.
There are great walks across Tuddenham Heath to nearby villages –see details in your room. There is also a boules court in the grounds.
Shop
Head for Newmarket for all things horsey, or browse through the many bookshops in Cambridge.
Spa
Tuddenham Mill has teamed up with a spa in Bury St Edmunds, where you can book a side-by-side massage and other treats.
After dark
Have a drink in the lounge bar, where the uplit original water wheel provides the backdrop to chilled sounds. See the swans change colour in the lights over the pond, or watch starry skies from your telescope.
Dates
May
Bury St Edmunds’ annual spring festival kicks off with theatre, comedy and an eclectic mix of music.
June – August
Combine a day’s racing with great music at Newmarket Nights – a series of concerts on race days featuring top bands.
September
Head for the Arts Picturehouse to catch some releases at the Cambridge Film Festival.
GETTING THERE
Location
High Street, Tuddenham, Suffolk IP28 6SQ
Parking
There is free guest parking.
Trains
Newmarket station – 4 miles; or Bury St Edmunds – 5 miles. Both are served by regular rail services from London.
Taxis
GBP 20 from either station
Airport
London Stansted – 44 miles; or Norwich – 45 miles. There is a helipad on site.
Rooms and suites
15 rooms, including 4 loft suites
Special features
All rooms have walk-in showers, indulgent baths, six-foot beds, Italian furnishings and Bose sound systems. Extra touches include Egyptian cotton bed linen, Jo Malone toiletries and Missoni towelling robes.
Also…
Sprawling Loft suites come with a shell-shaped stone bath for two in the bedroom, complimentary wines and other extras.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
GBP 175 – 395
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
14:00
Check-out
12:00
Minimum night stay?
Two nights at weekends, and three over bank holiday weekends.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served until 10.30 weekdays and 11.00 at weekends. If you don’t have room for the Full Mill (complete with Stornoway black pudding and egg fried bread), kick-start the day with a delicious fresh smoothie or try the smoked haddock kedgeree, scrambled duck eggs or baked calzone.
Room service
Usually available all day.
Children
Welcome. There is a special children’s menu, and extra beds or cots can be supplied.
Pets
Welcome in most rooms, dogs are GBP 15 each.
Air conditioning
No.
Wedding license?
Yes. Tuddenham Mill is perfectly suited to a stylish and intimate wedding, and dinners for up to 60 guests can be catered for in the restaurant. The Loft suites also make a great First Night getaway.