If you haven’t made the pilgrimage to Wyken Vineyard yet, consider this your sign. Tucked into 1,200 acres of beautiful Suffolk countryside, this is one of those rare places that manages to be a working farm, award-winning vineyard, acclaimed restaurant, gorgeous garden and thriving community all at once, and somehow pulls it off without breaking a sweat.

At the heart of it all sits The Leaping Hare, housed in a 400-year-old medieval barn and holder of a Michelin Bib Gourmand for over two decades. The menu moves with the rhythms of the estate – venison, hogget, pork and game reared on the farm, salads and vegetables grown in the kitchen garden – so what lands on your plate is as seasonal and considered as it gets. It’s rustic charm meets genuinely refined cooking, and it’s the kind of lunch that turns into an afternoon without you noticing.

Then there’s the vineyard itself. On a south-facing slope with a history stretching back to Roman times, 12,000 vines grow in sandy loam over chalk, producing around 12,000 bottles a year. Wyken was the first vineyard restaurant in the UK, and their wines – including the rather wonderful sparkling Wyken Moonshine – are every bit as worth seeking out as the food. The estate also runs almost entirely on its own solar energy and firewood from its ancient coppiced woodland, because of course it does.

Don’t leave without wandering the gardens, which have been lovingly cultivated over 50 years and in 2023 were crowned the most popular RHS Partner Garden for the East and Midlands. They wrap around the old Suffolk manor in the most beautiful way. And if you can time a visit for the weekly Farmer’s Market or a browse of the country store, so much the better. Wyken isn’t just a destination – it’s a whole mood.