welcome to
THE SWEFFLING WHITE HORSE
- traditional alehouse -
This Suffolk real ale pub stocks an ever-changing range of locally brewed ales and ciders, and some wonderful locally made bottled ales & spirits. We also stock a range of organic fairtrade & local wines , a selection of carefully chosen speciality spirits & soft drinks and a small selection of delicous home cooked food.
For our ales we tend to focus on small local breweries, and we like to seek out new brews all the time, so you're likely to find something you may not have tried before. We always have at least two draught local ales to choose from, as well as one draught local cider. We like to think of it as a very slow beer festival!
The public bar has a selection of traditional pub games including bar billiards, darts and a few other treats. The Sweffling White Horse is a dog-friendly pub.
Heated entirely by wood - the lounge bar has a large woodburning stove, and the public bar is home to a lovely wood-fired range cooker which also heats the radiators.
As well as the two main rooms the pub also has a small but beautiful beer garden with a rustic arbor, covered areas and seating for up to 42 people in 6 seating areas. The garden is enchantingly lit by candles and fairylights at night, and is open from spring equinox to the end of September.
Please note this is a keg-free pub, however we do stock five varieties of Suffolk bottled lagers.
The pub also has its own holiday accommodation in the form of a self-catering cottage & campsite - see the Accommodation page for more info.
Tasty ales and a warm welcome awaits you!
NEW OWNERS SOUGHT - THE PUB AND CAMPSITE ARE UP FOR SALE
15 years ago we had a dream. We bought a derelict pub and overgrown beer garden and set about turning that dream into a reality.
Alde Garden campsite opened in 2010 – a tiny wildlife garden with a handful of tent pitches and a small collection of handmade rustic glamping options. In 2011 we re-opened The Sweffling White Horse – a small 2-room traditional alehouse with a strong focus on community and locally sourced ales.
Our journey has been a wonderful one – the businesses have given us so much more than just food on the table and a roof over our heads. Both have won a multitude of environmental awards, and the pub is a favourite of CAMRA – having been awarded the local branch Pub of the Year 5 times, the overall Suffolk POTY twice, and East Anglian POTY once.
A few months ago we began getting the feeling that it was time for us to move on – other things now need our attention – and so we are now searching for the right people to take it on.
The businesses’ environmental and community ethics are at the core of all aspects, and both businesses have been run from the heart as a delightful lifestyle. Both come with a huge amount of goodwill & good reviews – 2 in every 5 guests in the campsite are returners, and the pub has a lovely bunch of devoted regulars filling the air with gentle humour and good vibes.
Both businesses have a great deal of scope for change which could improve profits without negatively impacting the customer experience – should new owners desire – but we have always had our needs met and therefore have not felt the urge to explore these avenues ourselves.
The site also includes owners’ accommodation, 2 self-contained flats, a 4* holiday cottage and a 6m cob, cordwood & straw bale roundhouse. The roundhouse is ready for new owners to apply the finishing touches- and could be put to a variety of uses. Our plan was to create a small low impact holiday cottage.
Potential new owners would need to demonstrate a commitment to the environment and also to the local community.
To find out more, please contact EM&F East Anglia, or click here.
In the meantime it's business as usual - we look forward to welcoming you to the pub soon.
Marie & Mark
** why the short opening hours? Pubs need some form of diversification these days - for most pubs it's meals. Our pub's support comes in the form of a campsite in the garden - which is a full time job in itself. Whilst this means we can't open the pub 7 nights a week, it does also mean the pub can retain its character as a drinking pub & drinkers are not fighting for tables pre-booked by diners. It also means we are not competing for trade with the other fantastic food pubs nearby.