Country pub of the week: The Westleton Crown, Westleton

Inland from the bleak beauty of Dunwich beach — about an hour in wellies through the forest, or maybe five minutes motoring — is Westleton, one of England’s villages that seem lifted from the yellowed pages of an old Agatha Christie.

The Crown is its pub, and only from the outside does it look the part. Inside, it is a well-kept haven that benefits from its modern makeover. Under a glass ceiling, the dining room fills with walkers and their dogs, locals, those stopping on a drive to somewhere else. Food and deft service are the draw: menus are built of pub classics (battered fish, burgers, tarts, towering roasts) but the execution is leagues above the average boozer.

You will eat well and the wise will stay the night. The even wiser will find the snug, the fireplace, the well-stocked bar. Time is sometimes best when it is lost.

The Street, Westleton, Saxmundham, IP17 3AD, westletoncrown.co.uk