Idyllic riverside house and gardens

Wainford Mill House is a stunning, spacious riverside house, which is part of a large former maltings/watermill building just outside Bungay. The house sleeps 12+2 people. You will have access to riverside gardens, a boat and a wood-fired pizza oven. There is also a wood-fired sauna cabin on an adjacent plot which can be separately booked. We ask all guests to observe the latest government guidance on COVID-19 to stay safe. The house comprises six large bedrooms, arranged across two floors. Five are doubles or king size, and one room is a bunk room set out with 2 + 2 single beds. Three bedrooms have en suites, and a separate shower room and WC is available on the first floor for the other rooms. Roll-top baths and high pressure showers are supplied with plenty of hot water by our our wood pellet boiler, which also powers central heating throughout. At the back of the house and overlooking the river you will find a large well-equipped kitchen including range Smeg cooker, fridge, toaster, kettle and washing machine. The large river-fronted garden at the back of the house is accessed over a small footbridge and is private and south-facing. For an extra charge of £60 per session, you will have private use of the Secret Sauna - a secluded wood-fired sauna, perched just over the water’s edge overlooking the River Waveney. The sauna requires booking in advance of your stay and can accommodate up to six people at a time. The sauna is hidden on an adjacent plot of land, a moment’s walk from the house. You will be provided with towels, robes and flip flops. Please ask us for further details. A bit of history...the first record of a flour mill at Wainford was in 1444, but by the 1800s the site was being used for malting of barley (for beer). Part of the working buildings were converted into a large house around 1850. Today the malting business continues at Wainford, with a modern facility 200m along the lane and a large white grain storage silo directly opposite Wainford Mill House to the north (you can see this in some of the pictures, it is now disused). You will have access to the garden and you can borrow our rowing boat to explore the beautiful Waveney River. Swimming upstream is glorious if the weather allows (the Waveney was named as a top ten river for wild swimming in the Guardian newspaper recently). You can cook pizza in our wood-fired oven outside, or simply relax in the garden on picnic benches and garden chairs. There are trees to climb for kids (and big kids). The river outside the house is the actually the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, and is around 4ft deep and usually slow flowing. However it is NOT securely fenced off, and children will require 100% supervision by adults at all times when outside to be safe. We have a small selection of buoyancy aids of various sizes that you can borrow. We live nearby, but not on site, so you’ll probably meet us, but otherwise you will have the place to yourself. An adjoining cottage is occupied by a young couple and their cat, who you may see around. The Waveney valley is a gentle, rural kind of place, where you can amble through pretty market towns, or walk along country lanes and across marshes. The high street of Bungay and its ruined castle amongst other attractions is around 15 minutes walk. Going a bit further afield, the pretty towns of Beccles and Halesworth are around 10-15 minutes drive. It's about half an hour's drive to the seaside (Southwold, Dunwich and Walberswick), and about 25 minutes to the lovely city of Norwich. Being a rural area, getting around by car is easiest and there is parking available. However, there are regular buses from Bungay to other towns in the area, and the nearest train station is Beccles which is ten minutes drive. You can securely store your bikes on the ground floor if you are arriving on two wheels. Please note at most times of the year we have a three-night minimum booking, this is because of the housekeeping costs for preparing the house each time. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to message us for more info!