The Gunton Arms is not a pub you stumble across. An imposing flint building set on the edge of a vast deer park not far from Cromer in North Norfolk, it sits at the end of a long drive, behind a gate with a satisfying clang (to protect the deer, not the drinkers). So far, so haunted house. It gets more eccentric — and fabulous — inside, where you’ll find a whole room of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Lucian Freud in the loos and a 10,000-year-old fossilised Irish elk skull above the fire.
That’s all courtesy of Gunton’s owner, art dealer Ivor Braka, who has filled the building and its grounds with his extensive collection of art and sculpture. If that makes it sound more hushed gallery than bustling local, may I direct you towards the pool table, the Sky Sports screen and the lively crowd at the bar enjoying Norfolk ales on tap. Don’t like art, or booze? Then come for the food, or rather the meat — venison from the estate is grilled on that open fire beneath the elk skull.
You’d prefer tapas? Trick question — the Gunton’s sister pub, the Suffield Arms, is a couple of miles down the road and hides a whitewashed, sunlit-bathed garden room at the back where the open kitchen produces endless boquerones and patatas bravas. Oh, and there’s more art, plus a delightfully louche, red-wallpapered cocktail bar upstairs.
Whether you’re boozed, full, or giddy with masterpieces, you’ll end up stumbling home — ideally to one of the grandly decorated rooms at the Gunton, where you can sleep it all off.
The Gunton Arms, Cromer Road, Thorpe Market, Norfolk NR11 8TZ ; theguntonarms.co.uk
