The Curious Oyster, Orford. A Dog Friendly Stay on the Suffolk Coast.
The welcome pack that is waiting for you on arrival at The Curious Oyster sets the tone for your stay in Suffolk. This is a county that takes great pride in their food and Orford is a big contributor to that with it’s down to earth Oyster and smokehouse, owned by none other than your hosts father.
Jodie Pinney grew up here, feet in the mud while her father tended to his oyster bed at Butley Creek. Her love of the area is apparent and she pulls out all the stops with attention to detail that celebrates that love with locally sourced artwork and homewares.
Orford has gained a bit of traction over the past few years, part of the Suffolk Coastal AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) and with plenty to do for those that appreciate the quieter side of life there are walks a plenty, the creative Snape Maltings nearby and short drives to more bustling towns like Southwold and Aldeburgh.
Orford has some serious curb appeal, walking along the pretty streets there’s much to see with the well tended beds out front of pleasing houses overlooked by Orford Castle. Little alleys with things to stumble upon like the Orford Meat Shed and you’re never far from the quay where you can walk along the river banks.
The Accommodation.
Having driven through some enchanting scenery either through Rendlesham Forest or past the stillness of Iken you’re already feeling your heart rate drop. The Castle rises out of Orford and The Curious Oyster sits just below it, at the mouth of Gedgrave Lane - a pretty lane that leads to Butley Ferry (a man operated boat). Walking up the tidy driveway past The Dunns (the larger sister house to the Curious Oyster) your first view of the Curious Oyster is two olive trees sat in the front of a white wall and a cute yellow chair by a gate, it’s an endearing entrance and entering through the gate you’re met with a gorgeous little secluded garden with pleasing furniture and two double doors on a facade that seems to stretch into the sky. This lovely wooden clad building has a real wow factor, the calm scandi vibes that will be a theme during your stay giving you a big wave hello. Carefully chosen and measured linen curtains sit from the top of the twin doors to the floor gently moving in the breeze and around the door are plenty of hooks to get organised from the get go - as you would know the virgo rising in me was all for this. Monty excitedly sniffed out the little jar of dog treats left for him in a ceramic dog bowl and once he’d gobbled down a couple of them got to work sniffing about in the enclosed garden.
The large open plan kitchen, dining and living room stretches up into a large pointed ceiling so there is a huge sense of space. My eye was drawn to the kitchen first where there was a welcome pack of local treats which instantly made me feel spoiled. Looking round the kitchen was so well equipped with good quality pots, pans, utensils and crockery. There was a stovetop espresso maker, a plunge coffee maker and nice choice of cups to drink the coffee from. The attention to detail was incredible.
I set down the food bag I had bought with me - leftovers from cooking with my Mum and sister, bits I had indulged myself with from Snape Maltings and Monty’s food. Opening up the Smeg fridge I already felt this was better than my own flat. With the food neatly away and ready for cooking once I had decide on a recipe from one of the cookbooks stowed the other side of the counter top I ventured through to the bedroom.
I unpacked my bag into the little wardrobe and it felt so nice to live like this, mentally making a note to have a wardrobe clear out when I got home so every day felt this curated. The soft mattress made me wonder how early I could get away with going to bed so I padded on the thick pile carpet through to the lovely, bright bathroom to run a bath while I made myself at home. Plum and Ashby products bought a lovely touch to this relaxing room and big fluffy white towels that wrapped right round me (rare!) were waiting for me after I’d soaked for a while, I’d been in Woodbridge earlier that day so had picked up some Homework bath salts from Vanil which ware such a treat.
The Experience.
The bath set such lovely tone to my stay, I’m still not able to sit down with my disc injury so me and Monty lay across the rug in the living room flicking through some of the magazines found around the Curious Oyster. Early evening I pottered around in the kitchen roasting squash and reducing down some tomatoes to make a pasta sauce. The kitchen felt so swish compared to my old rattly oven at home.
After an early night Monty and I were up with the larks to get exploring Orford, having a day to myself before we got to work shooting for three days the next day. We headed on down to the quay, 15 minutes walk away where we picked up the river wall marvelling at the sunrise behind the boats and nodding at the locals walking their dogs. We walked for an hour or so along the river, through some farmland and around the pretty village before ending up at the famous Pump Street Bakery in the Square for opening time. It was the start of a 4 day love affair with Orford.
Pump Street are famous for a reason - their pastries, cakes, flans and loaves are something else. Pick up a cinnamon bun to take back to the Curious Oyster to have with coffee or if the sun is shining order a coffee here and enjoy a moment of calm on the bench outside.
Despite being a small place, Orford has a lot to entertain you. There are many walks you can do and in the longer day months you can take a boat over to Orford Ness (not dog friendly) which is looked after by the National Trust and where you can look for seals. If you feel like walking a good chunk of the day away you can also walk along the river down to Butley Creek where you can take a small man operated ferry over the river to explore Butley. Butley Creek is also where the Pinney’s smokehouse is (that is sold in the Pinney’s shop on Orford quay) and you might catch them in action smoking and prepping oysters and crabs. I highly recommend lunch at The Butley Orford Oysterage (also owned by Pinney’s) - the oysters are delightful and they know what they offer here - down to earth locally caught fish dishes cooked with years of understanding of how to work with seafood. The decor is unassuming and undistracting from the food itself and, in a world of heavy branding and industrial decor, was very refreshing. I got a lot of joy from the fishing net curtains that Jodie tells me have been there since the beginning of time - so retro they take on a level of identity. Once you’ve had your seafood fill, nip next door to Pump St Chocolate for some of their famous Sourdough and Sea Salt chocolate.
On one of our shoot days we were working to brief and setting up a scene - we loaded up a basket with Pump St French sticks, smoked salmon and some LA bubbles from Pinney’s and caught golden hour down on the banks of the river. It was so perfect that I’m vowing to get back and do it again without the camera (although it’s inevitable one will be attached to me, albeit not my work one!).
The joy of Orford is you feel like you’ve crossed a threshold and the village envelopes you in the best possible way. Life is of it’s own right here, there’s no supermarkets - alongside the places I’ve mentioned there’s only the General Stores. It is possible to plant yourself here entirely and get lost for a while while you enjoy the slow pace that Orford encourages for the duration of your stay. But if you did want to explore nearby you can check out some of my Suffolk posts below or check out my 8 things do on the Suffolk Coast post. I LOVED Woodbridge and you can detour en route and stop off at Shingle Street. Just gorgeous.
Overall Stay.
In the days I stayed at The Curious Oyster I felt so comfortable and at home. A bath became a nighttime ritual and the evenings would stretch out somehow, leaving me time to flick through magazines once I’d finished editing the days photos. There’s something very lovely about a November stay because the days draw in early, almost forcing you to have some still time - time where you are allowed to just be. Without the never ending to do list you have at home, you can give yourself permission (not that you need it) to just snuggle on down and read a book or a magazine. Or flick through a recipe book and go and pick up the fish the next day to make that fish and saffron stew you drooled over.
Monty took any opportunity to go and sit in the sun out in the garden and I felt so inspired by living the Curious Oyster life with some beautiful natural cleaning products (stocked at Pinney’s) that as soon as I got home I rehauled my cleaning routine and have turned over a new leaf because of it.
While The Dunns next door lends itself to a social stay, The Curious Oyster is perfect for the solo traveller or couple who just want to switch off from the world for a bit, experience life in the most slow way and remind themselves of the simple pleasures that fill their cup. Book here.
The Edit - what came with me.
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The day bag.
I swear by Meraki’s multi balm, it’s thick and tacky in all the right ways. Perfect for dry elbows and knuckles and wind chapped lips from bracing river walks. I never go anywhere these days without my Neom Hand Sani - smells delicious and perfect for spraying when going in and out of food shops.
My wool hand warmer were from a boutique in Brighton - I swear by fingerless gloves because I like to be able to touch buttons and fiddle with camera dials. You can find similar Lambswool ones here.
Luxuries.
My signature scent Nordic Cedar by Maya Njie is a woody, genderless fragrance that I love to wear. It seems especially fitting in Suffolk where the trees are tall and the ground covered in fern. I was gifted the May Lindstrom Jasmine Garden a few years back and I still have it. I love it for the winter months because it nourishes my skin after it’s been exposed to the elements. Finally I’ve been giving my back and gluten some love with the Aqua Oleum Aches & Pains massage oil every evening, it does really help.
The nightstand.
I don’t travel without my Drift Away pillow spray, the lavender and orange scent is a faithful. I discovered B Skincare recently and it’s so well priced and is really wonderful, I really love this rosehip oil. The Haeckels Eco Hand Balm is an attractive pot and I love the scent for my hands and the Neom wonder balm treats my lips and dry knees from kneeling in the van to boil a kettle while exploring. I have been writing one line before bed since February in my One Line a Day, it has space for 5 years so looking forward to revisiting my Suffolk memories in years to come.
