The Cross Keys

2 reviews
Cowslip in the meadow
Cowslip in the meadow
A caravan on the meadow
Picnic area
View of the pub from the meadow
Pub frontage
Selfheal in the meadow
Secure fencing
Outdoor area
1/27

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  • Large meadow attached to a pub a 15-minute walk from Henley, Suffolk
  • Ipswich 10 minutes’ drive; Felixstowe half an hour
  • Food made with locally sourced ingredients; live music and classes
Wild camping tends to be inherently eco-friendly – and that’s certainly the case at The Cross Keys, part of a pub about a mile outside Henley, in Suffolk. Don’t bother getting behind the wheel of your car to get to the village – it’s a straightforward 15-minute walk or a five-minute bike ride away; having said that, the road gets busy at rush hour, since it leads into Ipswich (10 minutes’ drive). The folks running the pub (mostly volunteers) believe in supporting other independent businesses, so they buy in drinks and food ingredients only from trusted local sources (regenerative and organic farmers, for example). Beyond environmental awareness, they also have a strong sense of community. They have turned the pub into a social hub by putting on a range of activities – from guitar lessons to Pilates, and from live music to support groups. The site itself spreads over almost an acre of land that becomes a riot of colour in the spring, when it is filled with wildflowers. It is also securely fenced off from the car park, which means the kids can run around the lawn (and into the pub garden, where you’re having the first of several locally produced ales…) without having to dodge oncoming vehicles. This is wild camping, so you might have to rough it a little. But while there might be no showers (watch this space, though, since that’s a definite project for the future), there are toilets in the pub (which is open Thursday to Saturday, and for Sunday brunch).

Campground type

Tent sites 16
RV sites 5
Opens

Languages spoken

English

Nearby parks that are bookable on Pitchup.com

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

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Features

Pop-up campground

Dogs allowed

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Baby-changing facilities Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Wild camping

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Pop-up campground Pub campground Small (11-25 sites)

Nearby leisure

Indoor pool nearby

Location

The Cross Keys

Main Road

Henley

Ipswich

Suffolk

England

IP6 0QP

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

52.12727°N
1.14515°E

Nearest transport

Bus
5.1 mi Cardinal Park
7.6 mi Station Road West
9.3 mi Motel
Rail
3.3 mi Westerfield Rail Station
4.2 mi Needham Market Rail Station
5.3 mi Ipswich Rail Station
Ferry
13 mi Shotley Point Marina Ferry Landing
13 mi Shotley Point Marina Ferry Landing
13.2 mi Harwich International Ferry Terminal

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Vintage buses, lorries and bicycles fill the halls of the Ipswich Transport Museum, where the kids can also climb inside restored period fire engines. Meanwhile, the Christchurch Mansion, on the edge of leafy Christchurch Park, houses collections of decorative objects and paintings by John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough. The seaside town of Felixstowe (half an hour’s drive) has a retro vibe, with rides at the seafront Ocean Boulevard Fun Park and amusement arcades. Grab some fish and chips or an ice cream to eat on the beach, then visit Felixstowe Pier, where an entertainment centre includes bowling and arcade games. Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape (half an hour) is a vast nature reserve with habitats ranging from beaches to heathland. Birdwatchers might head to Sandlings Forest (35 minutes) to see woodlarks, or to RSPB Boyton and Hollesley Marshes (40 minutes) to spot herons and egrets.

Food and drink

  • Sorrel Horse Inn 1.8 mi
  • The Moon and Mushroom 2 mi
  • The Greyhound 2 mi
  • The Crown 2 mi
  • The Barley Mow 2.3 mi
  • Chequers 2.4 mi
  • Man on the Moon 3.1 mi
  • The Swan 3.1 mi
  • The Highwayman 3.2 mi
  • The Railway Inn 3.3 mi

Groceries

  • East of England CO-OP 2 mi
  • Tesco 2.4 mi
  • Lidl 3.1 mi
  • East of England CO-OP 3.1 mi
  • Asda 3.3 mi
  • East of England CO-OP 3.8 mi
  • Co-op Food 4.1 mi
  • Family Supermarket 4.4 mi
  • Aldi 4.4 mi
  • Morrisons 4.5 mi

Parks and play

  • Shrubland Park 1.8 mi
  • Henley Gate Country Park 3.1 mi
  • Whitton Recreation Ground 3.1 mi
  • Castle Hill Recreation Ground 3.3 mi
  • Whitehouse Recreation Ground 3.4 mi
  • The Dales Open Space 3.8 mi
  • Bramford Lane Recration Ground 3.9 mi
  • Helmingham Park 3.9 mi
  • Sherrington Road Rec 4 mi
  • Needham Lake 4 mi

Family days out

  • Baylham Rare Breeds Farm Visitor attraction 2.5 mi
  • Helmingham Hall Castle 3.9 mi
  • Chantry Walled Garden Visitor attraction 5.3 mi

Public transport

  • Cross Keys 0 mi
  • Five Ways 0.7 mi
  • Church Lane 0.9 mi
  • Stonewall Farm 1.2 mi
  • Hare & Hounds Corner 1.5 mi
  • Lincoln Gardens 1.7 mi
  • Post Office 1.7 mi
  • Village Store 1.7 mi
  • Edinburgh Gardens 1.8 mi
  • Kirby Rise 1.8 mi

What’s nearby

  • Fynn Valley Golf Club Golf course 2.6 mi
  • Bramford Golf Centre / Suffolk Golf & Water Park Golf course 3.3 mi
  • Stonham Barns Golf Centre Golf course 4.1 mi
  • Anything & Everything General shop 4.3 mi
  • Sailmakers Shopping centre 4.8 mi
  • The Buttermarket Shopping centre 4.9 mi
  • The Revolution Nightclub 4.9 mi
  • Ipswich Wet Dock Marina 5.4 mi
  • The Music Room Nightclub 5.4 mi
  • Rushmere Golf Course 5.5 mi

Local services

  • Claydon Pharmacy 2.1 mi
  • Fircroft Road Pharmacy 3.1 mi
  • Shell Needham Market Fuel station 3.1 mi
  • Evergreen Garage (Crowfield) Ltd Fuel station 3.2 mi
  • Ipswich Supercharger Charging station 3.2 mi
  • Asda Fuel station 3.2 mi
  • Asda Pharmacy 3.3 mi
  • Whitehouse Service Station Fuel station 3.3 mi
  • BP Fuel station 3.5 mi
  • Wellbeing Pharmacy 3.6 mi

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Must see

Christchurch Mansion 4.7 mi

Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon Burial Mounds 8.6 mi

Framlingham Castle 10.8 mi

Orford Castle 16.6 mi

Orford Ness National Nature Reserve 16.8 mi

National Trust

Sutton Hoo 8.5 mi

Flatford: Bridge Cottage 12.8 mi

Thorington Hall 13.7 mi

Lavenham Guildhall 14.8 mi

Orford Ness National Nature Reserve 16.8 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

SHRUBLAND HALL 1.7 mi

HELMINGHAM HALL 3.8 mi

A Walk Around Ipswich 4.4 mi

OLD AND NEW CEMETERY, IPSWICH 4.4 mi

CHRISTCHURCH MANSION 4.5 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Reviews

10

Overall rating from 2 Pitchup.com customers

Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 6

100% would recommend this campground to a friend

100% would stay here again

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 1
Arrival date (latest first)

Pub on-site was very nice and…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 2
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Pub on-site was very nice and they had a food stall on one of the nights and the food was amazing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Loved it and will be back!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
 jacqueline annelise k. 1 review

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Welcoming atmosphere!
Lovely pub on site
Helpful staff
Wild meadow environment with smaller areas mowed for pitch good amount of space between each pitch
Small pen that can house dogs to keep them safe whilst you are packing /unpacking
Wonderful countryside all around and enjoyed some really nice walks with the dogs on public footpaths
The pub itself has many events something to suit everyone from bands of a night to wkend events

Disliked Road can be busy especially at harvest time with tractors. This only bothered me as I was working and was getting up at 6 but was awoken 3-5am with tractors and trucks up and down - again I also pitched near the hedge with road on other side so not a sensible position altho had I not been working I think I would have just turned over and went back to sleep moral of the story is next time it’s leisure time no work!!!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Frequently asked questions

  • Does The Cross Keys have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is The Cross Keys dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near The Cross Keys? Vintage buses, lorries and bicycles fill the halls of the Ipswich Transport Museum, where the kids can also climb inside restored period fire engines. Meanwhile, the Christchurch Mansion, on the edge of … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of The Cross Keys?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  Anytime –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    Read more