Salthouse: Dun Cow


24 June 2005

I used to have a boyfriend with an ice-cream van — and if this wasn't a marvellous enough fact — he used to pitch it up in Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast. Ah, that was a fine summer.

The A149 coastal road runs through the small, but perfectly formed, village of Salthouse which, as its name suggests, was once a centre for locally-produced salt.

Once a thriving port, linked to the sea by the Mayne Channel, the village was wrestled from the sea by the construction of dykes and the blocking of waterways as part of land reclamation in 1638.

Today, the village is a mecca for walkers and twitchers who flock (excuse the pun) to Salthouse to marvel at the bird life which lives on the salt and freshwater lagoons of the Salthouse Marshes.

The Dun Cow in Salthouse (not to be mistaken for the pub of the same name in Swainsthorpe) is a traditional country inn which incorporates part of what used to be a blacksmith's. The distinctive double-pitched roof, with its central beam supporting a lead gully used for draining rainwater, dates from the 17th century and helps make this an atmospheric venue for a superior pub lunch.

My friends and I had just taken a cliff top walk at West Runton and were ravenous for an old-fashioned pub lunch where substance was not sacrificed for style. And we weren't disappointed. I chose a deep-fried Camembert with redcurrant jelly from the specials menu (£4.75) while my friends chose whitebait with lemon (£4.75) and country pate and toast, £4.50.

You can eat inside the pub, outside in the courtyard or — if the weather is kind — on picnic tables on the front garden, which overlooks the wonderful salt marshes, or the back garden which is reserved for adults only.

We opted for the front garden (the adults-only caveat seemed a bit alarming — did it mean we'd have to wear sensible shoes and pretend not to own mobile phones?) and sat marvelling at the view while our food was prepared.

Our starters arrived within 10 minutes and were delicious (and HUGE).

The whitebait was declared particularly fine and came served with a perfect white roll, the kind you always want to find at a bakery but never do.

For our main courses, we chose a cheese salad, £6.25, ham, egg and chips, £6.50, cod and chips. £6.95 and a portion of garlic bread, £1.50. Again, the portion were huge and the food simple, but good.

Fuel for the North Norfolk explorer. We didn't take the kids, but if we had, there would have been a children's menu to tempt them that includes chicken nuggets, chipolata sausages, a jumbo fish finger or cheese and tomato pizza (plus chips, obviously) — for £3.50.

For budget-watching diners, there's an extensive choice of sandwiches and baked potatoes, too. After our meal, we rolled back to the car, and realised we were too full to even contemplate visiting the ice-cream van — the memory of which had drawn us to Salthouse in the first place.

The van is still there, or was the day we visited, although the boyfriend I had who once manned the decks has now emigrated across the pond and is Big In Computers, which aren't half as exciting as ice-cream. I bet his view isn't as beautiful these days, either (and I don't mean because he doesn't see me every day. Although...).