Show Gallery (16 images)

Fritton Lake

East Anglia Norfolk Great Yarmouth

8 Guest Rooms + Lodges & Cottages
Waterborne Adventures

A dog friendly country pub at the heart of a lavish country estate, with rooms, great food and tremendous grounds and facilities.

Book Now

Book your stay securely on a third-party website

Tucked away on the edge of the Norfolk Broads and Great Yarmouth, Fritton Lake – and the lavish Somerleyton Estate it is part of – straddles the Norfolk-Suffolk border, offering boutique rooms and self-catering woodland lodges and cottages. Technically a private member’s club, anyone who stays qualifies for temporary membership – and access to the estate’s extensive facilities.

Dating back to the 16th century, the cosy Clubhouse is at the heart of the estate – basically a comfy country house-cum-country inn, with creaky floorboards, big fireplaces, random contemporary art and a scattering of books and magazines in the public spaces. The décor throughout – in the lounges, the bar, the restaurant – is rustic yet contemporary, designed to make you feel right at home, with squashy sofas in the lounge, comfy chairs around the big open fire in the bar, and stripped-down pine tables mismatched with modish blue chairs in the restaurant. There’s a big outside terrace, which is lovely in summer, beyond which lie the lake, gardens, tennis courts, swimming pool and footpaths into the woods.

There are eight rooms in The Clubhouse, including two family suites up in the eaves, three regular doubles and three larger doubles with king-sized beds, the best of which are the two dual-aspect rooms at the front of the house. They’re decorated in a country style with funky, contemporary touches, and come equipped with Freeview televisions, good wifi, tea- and coffee-making facilities, complimentary mineral water and homemade chocolates and biscuits; bathrooms are spacious and comfortable, with Cowshed toiletries in eco-friendly non-miniature sizes.

The Clubhouse restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every day except Sunday when they don’t serve dinner. The menu is deliberately simple, inclusive and properly seasonal and local, much of it using produce and foraged ingredients from the estate – Somerleyton beef burgers and ragu, shepherd's pie made with estate lamb, seasonal salads and veg. There are also regular foodie events showcasing the produce for the estate and the skills of the estate’s chefs.

Dogs are welcome in all the Clubhouse rooms and some of the lodges, and there's a children’s adventure play area, with rope walkways and a zip wire. There is a well-equipped gym and a studio for yoga, pilates and other classes, next door to which Fritton Lake's shop sells food and drink, much of it from the estate, along with well-chosen gifts, jewellery and clothes – and merchandise promoting the Wild East re-wilding project. Beyond here you can go boating, kayaking and paddleboarding on the lake, wild swimming or swimming in the open-air heated pool, or play tennis on a choice of grass or clay courts. There are also regular organised runs around the lake, foraging tours and jeep ‘safaris’ to see the estate’s wildlife and all sorts of football, volleyball and field games designed with families in mind.

Beyond the estate, follow the long-distance Angles Way to the remains of the Roman fort at nearby Burgh Castle – an iconic and impressive local ancient site – or visit Somerleyton Hall on the other side of the lake. If it looks familiar, it might be because it doubled as Sandringham recently in the Netflix series The Crown!