Ugly Bug Inn - Colton

Recommending wheelchair-accessible pubs is an impossible task. After all, what works for one user may not work for another. What one landlord believes is suitable may not be the same interpretation as another. All we can offer are our experiences as we try to find proper pubs (rather than barn-sized carvery chains) that offer good beer, fresh food food, convivial atmosphere and easy access.

Sometimes, it pays dividends to travel in the opposite direction to the rest of the crowd. After leaving a heaving Royal Norfolk Show this year, we kept away from the A47 and hacked down the backroads to find a pub that had been recommended to us the village of Colton. Tucked out of the way, we found the Ugly Bug Inn.

It’s one of those pubs that makes you feel at ease as soon as you walk through the door. With its doors just opened for the evening, landlord John Lainchbury gave us a warm welcome. One room is divided up with booths and benches; the other is home to the bar with a ceiling chock-full of pumpclips. With easy-listening music playing low in the background and subtle lighting, the Ugly Bug had a really relaxed vibe about it.

Cask beers included those from local microbrewers – Humpty Dumpty beers make a regular appearance here and the Little Sharpie we tried was on great form. When we were ready to eat, John brought the menu to our table – literally. He talked us through the contents of a three-foot-tall menu board, pointing out where and when the specials had come from (shellfish landed in Suffolk the day before, samphire picked just that morning from the Norfolk coast). Moving through to the restaurant, we both enjoyed some great seafood dishes that were fairly priced for fresh local produce.

Access was impressive. The route from front door through to the bar and restaurant was all on one level with plenty of room to manoeuvre the chair. All staff were helpful in moving furniture around to help us get settled. There was only one small lip up into the toilet area but there was a wheelchair-accessible loo (and it wasn’t one that was used as a storage cupboard as we all too often experience). It’s worth noting though that there’s no designated Blue Badge parking and the gravel surface may be difficult for some independent chair users - but we coped OK.

The Ugly Bug is one of those relaxing pubs that you dream of finding at the end of a country lane. We’ll certainly be back there next summer.