This Easter we took the long drive down to Suffolk to visit my gran for her 90th birthday celebrations.

My gran lives in Halesworth, a market town nestled in the countryside and not far from the coast. It’s the perfect combination of small town idyllic countryside with the beach on your doorstep.

I’ve visited Halesworth several times over the last decade but only blogged about my visit once before. If you’re looking for a guide to Halesworth and what there is to do here please check out my last blog post for everything the town has to offer:

Halesworth is a market town with pretty, colourful houses, cute resturants and small unique local shops to visit.

This time we were down for birthday celebrations so we stayed in the nearby village of Kessingland at the Parkdean Kessingland Beach resort.

We got lucky with the weather when we visited over Easter and I got to venture the high street in its prime. Halesworth is always thriving when the sun comes out. All the little cafes have their tables and chairs out on the high street for people to enjoy the sunshine. With the rise of dog friendly places and outdoor space since COVID struck, I find this more and more across the UK post 2020.

I didn’t spend too much time in Halesworth town centre this time around. As I was visiting my gran I only had chance to visit a couple of shops but walking down the high street I did notice The White Hart is back open again since my last visit. Great news.

Some of the shops have changed again including the closure of the local hardware store and Post Office. As the town were taking part in an Easter egg trail we joined in looking for bunnies and eggs in all the store windows. This seems to be quite a common activity I noticed throughout Suffolk and my toddler loved it!

During one of the sunny days we spent in Halesworth, we had the opportunity to enjoy a picnic in the park. This was the perfect way to spend our day here and the weather was beautiful. Likely the warmest day we’ve had so far in 2026 and we were thankful for no rain for once.

I’ve wanted to bring my dog here since visiting in 2024 and noticing what an incredible walk there is here. Halesworth Millennium Green is the largest Millennium Green in the UK and it provides an abundance of different routes to follow. Whilst we didn’t walk much of the green we enjoyed a short walk from the park and under the old railway bridge. There is a great website all about the green here.

This time around I visited a couple of restaurants in the area both a short drive from Halesworth. I had two lovely experiences with tasty food and good service and I wanted to write about them on my blog as I highly recommend paying them a visit if you are in the area.

The Huntsman & Hounds

Located in Spexhall, The Huntsman & Hounds is just a 6 minute drive from Halesworth. We visited on Easter Sunday and had booked in advance for our table of four. It wasn’t noisy but every table was occupied and it was a nice atmosphere. The pub was cosy with a warm inviting feel to it and the decor was pretty.

I ordered the beef sunday roast which was a great portion size and came with plenty of veg! All of us ordered dessert and I thoroughly enjoyed the treacle tart. The Guinness cake was unique and rather tasty too!

When looking for a local place to eat, we found this pub to be significantly cheaper than others in the area. I would say the food was great value and I am not sure why the price difference was so large. We left satisfied with full belly’s and happy with our visit.

The Fox Inn

A 12 minute drive from Halesworth, this time in the opposite direction to the last pub, you’ll find The Fox Inn. South of Halesworth this lovely pub is located in Darsham.

We were here to celebrate my gran’s 90th birthday so there were a large group of us excited to get together for the first time in many years.

Surprisingly I’ve been to this pub before and recognised the beautiful setting straight away. I remembered how good the cocktails were and how i’d once enjoyed a lovely meal in the sun back in 2019.

It was obviously chosen as the venue for celebrating because of many great previous visits. This time I ordered the Foxy Cottage Pie with my favourite passionfruit martini cocktail.

We all enjoyed the desserts with mine being my favourite Sticky Toffee Pudding and a Bailey’s Espresso Martini. Absolutely delicious!

It’s safe to say we came away a little too full from pudding but extremely happy with the service and how wonderful it was to celebrate in the lovely sunny space we were seated.

We had an amazing time celebrating with family in Halesworth. We got lucky with a dry few days and a spot of sunshine. Spring is finally here and it was nice to enjoy Easter in some new places.

I don’t know when I will next return to Halesworth. I don’t have any trips planned to Suffolk in the near future but i’m definitely keen to head back. Our week in Kessingland Beach was beautiful and I really feel I got to know the county by spending a bit longer here than usual. There are lots of great places to visit in Suffolk and Halesworth is one of the many little towns worth paying a visit.

~ Visited Halesworth, Suffolk in April 2026 ~