FOOD & DRINK

what's on June 2024 at burnt house vineyard suffolk

Transport yourself to France this month with a visit to Burnt House Vineyard near Stowmarket, a gorgeous family-run vineyard with loads of fabulous foodie events. At the start of the month on 1 June Dine in the Vines, a private dining experience, is back for a second year. It’s an idyllic experience where you can enjoy a glass of English sparkling wine and canapés with picturesque vineyard views followed by a three course meal crafted by The Modern Table amongst the vines. Other not-to-be-missed foodie events at the vineyard this month include Mulino X Burnt House (freshly handmade pasta with wine) on 5 June and an evening with Pinney’s of Orford (think freshly shucked oysters, lobster rolls, smoked fish, white bait and wine!) on 9 June. Regular tours and tasting are on every Saturday at 11am and 4pm too until September.

Love your steak? The Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds has the perfect event for you – a special steak night in The Vaults on 6 June where you can enjoy cuts of carefully-sourced British beef with delicious sides and classic sauces alongside popular cocktails and curated wines from the Angel Bar are available along with some very special wine pours.

Flourish Produce, a farm and farm shop near Hildersham and Linton, is holding a Pop-Up Summer Market in Hildersham on 8 June from 10am – 4pm. There will be local crafters, makers and foodie delights, plus The Linton Kitchen will be stocked with all the delicious cakes, sweet treats and hot drinks. And the Farm Shop will be filled with the freshest seasonal produce, foodie treats and gift ideas.

Local chef extraordinaire Ben Sulston is hosting a supper club at Waresley Park Estate on 14 June and tickets are selling fast. As well as cooking up a a flavour-filled seasonal four-course feast with wine pairing, Ben will spend the evening talking to all guests about the dishes, suppliers and techniques he uses. See the menu and book here.

It’s that time of year where we can stuff ourselves silly at food festivals all in the name of supporting local of course. Top of our list this month is Taste of East Anglia on 15 June at Kentwell Hall. The region’s best chefs will be taking to the stage throughout the day and there will be around 70 stalls of delicious local produce, street food, ice creams, drinks and cocktails, plus music, and a number of local craft stalls. It’s a great day out for the kids too, with a kids’ tent including drawing and painting activities from Woodpecker’s Nursery.

New afternoon tea offering at The Fellows House Cambridge

Don’t forget it’s Father’s Day this month so getting booking now if you want to treat your old man. Thinking of taking him out for lunch? Our picks for the 16 June across Suffolk & Cambs are…

The Father’s Day Sunday Roast and Carvery at The Fellows House sounds like heaven for any foodie dads – a carvery style roast in the smart Folio Bar & Kitchen. If your dad’s got more of a sweet tooth, take him along to the brand new afternoon tea offering at the hotel or book him in for the Summer Wine & Cheese Tasting on 29 June.

Also in Cambridge, The Gonville Hotel is hosting a Father’s Day Feast in the Terrace Restaurant: a three-course meal and free pint of Odin Beer for Dad. You’ll also find a fabulous afternoon tea option here on 15 June if that’s more your vibe – a Jazz afternoon tea with live music to help create a special ambience while you enjoy sweet treats. And at the end of the month there’s a special Summer Jazz BBQ night in the gardens on 27 June where you can listen to New Orleans style Jazz over a BBQ feast.

If you’re nearer the Suffolk coast and are looking for Father’s Day ideas make sure to take your dad along to the High Lodge Leisure Sunday Carvery on 23 June. And if you’re feeling extra generous book him onto a clay shooting, are rifle or archery course for a pre- or post- lunch activity.

Another brilliant Father’s Day option in Suffolk is at Seckford Hall Hotel near Woodbridge, which is hosting two amazing events this June. Nab tickets now to the Father’s Day Host A Roast on 16 June and the Lakeside Summer BBQ on 23 June.

Our final Father’s Day foodie offering is at gorgeous newly refurbished The Bell Hotel in Saxmundham, where you can book in for a Sunday Roast on the 16 June with your dad who’ll receive a free pint!

Over in Bury St Edmunds wine lovers will want to get tickets to meet the Winemaker from Spanish winemaker Ailalá at 7pm on 19 June at The Wine Cellar BSE. Inma Pazos will be showing off her Treixadura and Souson from Ribeiro and there will be plenty of charcuterie and cheese to nibble on while you taste.

Head down to the atmospheric and historic Vaults in The Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds this month for a fabulous Underground Supper Club on 20 June. With an inventive small plate menu designed for sharing punchy cocktails, an upbeat playlist and intimate atmosphere it’s an exclusive event you won’t want to miss.

If you love a bit of big band and Bublé then you’ll want to head to The Swan at Lavenham on 27 June for a Michael Bublé tribute evening. Jason Allen (squint and he looks like a chiselled version of the real thing) will perform classics by the great Canadian singer songwriter throughout the evening while you dine on a special three-course dinner in The Gallery Restaurant. Tickets £65pp.

DAYS OUT

It’s a big month at IWM Duxford with the Duxford Summer Air Show: D-Day 80 on 1-2 June that will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day with the arrival of a fleet of historic Dakotas, the iconic aircraft of the D-Day landings, gracing the skies of Duxford for a series of spectacular flypasts throughout the weekend and a grand historic parachute drop on Saturday June 1st. Later in the month there’s also Duxford Flying Days: The Americans on 26 June, where you can find out about the special relationship between America and Britain and enjoy a few surprises in the sky as well as a great day out with loads of activities on the ground.

Midsummer Common’s famous Strawberry Fair is on 1 June this year. If you haven’t been before, it’s a one day music and arts event run entirely by volunteers and is free to attend! There will be performances from over 100 local groups, as well as community stalls showcasing Cambridge’s finest wares, lots of food trucks, fairground rides, a kids area, a scarecrow corner, workshops and the Cambridge Band competition.

Also on 1 June it’s the third Cambridgeshire County Day at Abbot’s Ripton Estate near Huntingdon. Expect a classic country day out with an array of trade stands, food stalls, demonstrations, and agricultural equipment that showcases the very best Cambridgeshire businesses, charities, and community initiatives.

Not jetting off to the South of France on your vacances this year? Don’t worry, because Provence is coming to Suffolk instead with the annual Boule-in Fête, a theatrical French shopping market and experience taking place on 15 and 16 June, and for 2024 it’s on tour at Shimpling Park Barns rather than Bildeston. On the 15 June there’s a French Styled Concert while the 16 June is the classic brocante with the chance to buy gorgeous vintage French furniture and gifts while you’re serenaded by live accordion music and enjoy a retro French garden café and bar.

On the 8 and 9 June it’s the annual Cambridge Town & Country Fair on Parker’s Piece. As the name suggests, there’s a bit of everything going on at this show from bottle feeding lambs and kids (goats that is!), a family dog show, birds of prey displays to bouncy castles, fairgrounds, and arts, crafts food drink and gifts marquees.

It’s Suffolk Day on 21 June – a whole day to celebrate the stunning county some of us call home. There are 25 icons of Suffolk to discover and an event map showing everything that’s on across the county on the longest day here. Events include everything from guided walks and treasure hunts to live broadcasts and competitions.

Lowestoft First Light Festival — Image: Kate Ellis

Love the long days in June? Then head to the UK’s most easterly point to celebrate summer in style at Lowestoft’s First Light Festival from 22 – 23 June. This celebration of the summer solstice marks the first sunrise of midsummer with a FREE jam-packed weekend of celebrations from noon to moon, including live music, dance and comedy performances, an incredible line-up of local street food vendors, kid’s shows and activities and lots more.

In Cambridgeshire the Fen Edge Festival is taking place this month from 21 – 23 June at Cottenham Village Green. It’s a celebration of the five Fen Edge villages and you can expect everything from live music at a mini Glastonbury-style Pyramid tent, a funfair, local food and drink and stalls.

Good news for Suffolk residents, the brilliant Heveningham Hall Country Fair is returning from 29 – 30 June. From traditional agricultural displays to an array of local food and drink vendors including Fen Farm Dairy, Fishers Gin, A Passion For Seafood, Kin Knives, Hill Farm Oils, Friday Street and Suffolk Salami it’s a fabulous day out. Local restaurants will also make an appearance with the likes of The Greyhound in Pettistree and The Suffolk in Aldeburgh cooking hot food. There’ll also be camel racing, a dog and duck show, falconry, a spitfire air show, tractor parade, classic cars, performances by local musicians and a bustling market.

EXHIBITIONS

Corridor picture #2 for Hôpital Armand Trousseau, Paris (c)Quentin Blake 2008

If you love the iconic illustrations of Quentin Blake then you’ll be delighted to hear that there is a summer exhibition of his illustrations opening at Moyse’s Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk this month. From 4 June you can see The Illustrated Hospital, an important display with some illustrations that have never been seen in public before.

If you’re over near the Peterborough border you’ll want to head to Peterborough Cathedral until 13 June to see the new photography exhibition of works by the late Magnum photographer, Peter Marlow. The free exhibition chronicles all 42 naves of England’s Anglican cathedrals taken in natural light and Peter’s photographic ‘portraits’ of the cathedrals at dawn capturing them emerging from the darkness as if suspended in time and removed from the modern age.

Head over to The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket this month to catch the new exhibition ICONS – The Photography of John Reardon. John was a former photographer at The Observer and The Guardian and the exhibition is an exploration of excellence through perseverance, reminiscent of Reardon’s own photographic process and covers everything from thoroughbreds through to Michelin-starred chefs. Not to be missed.

When The Sea Comes In is a free exhibition taken from the archives of the Walberswick History Group that tells the story of the great east coast flood in 1953 and subsequent floods through pictures, oral history, paintings a woman’s diary and a film. There are children’s activities as part of the exhibition so make a family trip of it. It’s running this month at The Heritage Hut in Walberswick on 15 – 16 June from 10am – 3.30pm.

THEATRE, COMEDY & MUSIC

six chick flicks June cambridge — Six Chick Flicks

Comedy royalty Jimmy Carr descends onto the Ipswich Regent Theatre stage on 1 June with his new show Jimmy Carr: Laughs Funny – nab your seat before it sells out. Another face from the telly, king of dark-humour Rhod Gilbert, stands up on 13 Jun at the Ipswich Regent and 14 June at The New Theatre Peterborough, or catch him later in the year at Lowestoft’s Marina Theatre on 27 Nov.

This month at The Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds there are two special Saturday Night Socials in The Vaults where you can enjoy sensational live music from local artists, punchy cocktails, tasty snacks, and great vibes. On 8 June and 15 June the talented Lexi Yelland will be performing so don’t miss out.

They sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe, and now Six Chick Flicks comes to The Junction in Cambridge on 11 June and the Key Theatre Peterborough on 12 June in this hilarious, feminist send-up of all your favourite chick flicks – Titanic, Pretty Woman, Beaches, Legally Blonde, The Notebook and Dirty Dancing – performed by Kerry Ipema and KK Apple.

There are five amazing musical shows to choose from this month at The Cambridge Corn Exchange so make space in your diary and nab tickets for Big Girls Don’t Cry on 9 June, 80s Live on 13 June, Magic of Motown on 15 June, An Evening of Burlesque on 20 June, and Thank You for the Music on 22 June. Find out more here.

The ever popular summer series of Music In The Parks in Cambridge starts this month on 16 June at Romsey Recreation Ground with Sing! Community Choir + ARU Musical Theatre Choir. Next month mark your diary for the Cambridge Wind Band on 14 July at Cherry Hinton Hall.

Suffolk Sinfonia are taking to the stage of The Apex in Bury St Edmunds on 22 June for their annual Summer Concert. A flavour of la vie Parisienne is the theme of the concert with Debussy’s Fetes from Nocturnes, Saint-Saens’ Violin Concerto No.3 and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

Fancy a night out out this month? Then grab a mini skirt, some stilettos, and a feather boa and get yourself down to La Vida Showbar in Felixstowe for a night to remember (or not if you go heavy on the Prosecco!). This June at the bar there’s so much to choose from including: 5 6 7 8 The Steps Experience on 1 June, Sophia Stardust & Karan Thrax on 7 June, Danny Beard Returns on 15 June, Drag Bingo on 21 June, Payday Party on 28 June, and Burlesque by the Beach on 29 June. Find out more here.

This June The New Wolsey is showing the world premiere of Bindweed, by Ipswich award-winning playwright Martha Loader from 28-29 June. The play delves into the lives of four men convicted of domestic abuse offences who gather each week for a perpetrator program. A though-provoking trip to the theatre!

FESTIVALS

Suffolk’s Red Rooster Festival, taking place from 30 May – 1 June is a celebration of the best in Cajun, Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues, Roots and Country. As well as a lot of amazing music, this festival is also well known for its river swimming (or Swan Pedalos if you don’t want to get your feet wet). There are also cookery masterclasses, a display of vintage American cars, vintage stores, fairground rides, a croquet lawn, football tables and workshops in bushcraft skills, cigar box guitar playing, flower headdress making and axe throwing. It’s open to everyone too with loads for kids and even dogs to do.

Who needs Glastonbury when you live in Cambs? The Cambridge Club Festival at Childerley Orchard from 7 – 9 June is huge and the line-up this year is particularly incredible. We’re talking Chaka Khan, Jessie Ware, Mel C, Gabrielle, Sister Sledge and the Earth, Wind & Fire Experience as well as amazing DJs such as Fat Tony, Denise Van Outen and Norman Jay MBE. There’s also an Auditorium of Intrigue featuring comedy acts and talks, and an Imagination Station (remember Dick & Dom?!) and activities for the kids.

If classical music is more your thing then save space in your diary for the many cultural highlights at Snape Maltings during the Aldeburgh Festival from 7 – 23 June. It’s the 75th anniversary of the festival this year so it’s going to be even bigger and better than usual with the four featured musicians announced as composer Unsuk Chin, cellist Alban Gerhardt, violinist Daniel Pioro and composer Judith Weir. There are far too many amazing performances to mention here but the London Philharmonic on the 8 June and all the performances by the four featured musicians are sure to sell like hotcakes! Discover the full line-up here.

As the name suggests, The Nearly Festival features the UK’s best touring tribute acts with tributes to Queen, Bob Marley, ABBA, Elton John, Whitney Houston and more. There’s also a Kidzone, street food market, and pub in the park to enjoy while you listen. The Nearly Festival comes to Bury St Edmunds this month from 8 – 9 June, and is at Oulton Broad next month from 6 – 7 July.

Over at the spectacular backdrop of High Lodge Thetford Forest on the Suffolk/ Norfolk border, Forest Live has announced Bryan Adams on 20 June, swiftly followed by Sting on 22 Jun. Then, it’s double the delights on 28 June with Tom Jones – including special guest Gabrielle.

For amazing world-class artists in an intimate setting, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Newmarket Racecourses’ Newmarket Nights this month. Not only do you get to enjoy some spectacular evening horse racing on set Fridays throughout the summer, but you can dance the night away to first class musical acts – this month it’s Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics on 21 June and JLS on 28 June. Find out more here.

The WildWood Disco at Horseheath Racecourse from 21 – 23 June is a weekend of pure joy, fun, dancing and revelry under a magical canopy of trees in Cambs. There are 4 stages with an excellent line up of artists and musical genres (hip hop, soul, disco, techno, etc.), and a Sundown Stage for energising yoga and disco yoga plus fortune telling, campfires, glamping and lots of glitter!

Now in its 9th year, the Southwold Arts Festival is a mix of music, talks, theatre, poetry and visual arts. The festival launches with a mini Rio Carnival style street event with choirs, bands & street entertainers taking over the pretty high street plus a vintage market and food stalls. Get involved from 22 – 29 June.

Ely Arts Festival is taking place from 15 – 29 June this year. The festival covers a huge range of cultural events in the Ely area from musical recitals in the stunning cathedral, to art competitions and theatre productions.

Seeing out the musical month is Bury St Edmunds’ Folk Festival in the walled garden at Nowton Park on 29 June. As well as fabulous live folk and acoustic music, there will be craft stalls, children’s activities, music workshops, hot food and a bar.

KIDS

Got a toddler who’s getting bored of simply wiping sticky fingers on your kitchen cupboards? Then head over to Newmarket Racecourse on 9 June, and you’ll find the perfect way to tire them out at this awesome kiddy event – TOTFest Suffolk (yes that’s right a festival for babies!). All the best baby and children’s businesses across the area come together in a riot of colour and noise, that your little ones will love. Think live shows, baby football, Hartbeeps, a creation zone, fairground rides, crazy golf and even a bat rave.

Mini theatre fans will love seeing David Walliams’ much-loved book Awful Auntie Live on Stage come to life at Cambridge Arts Theatre from 29 May – 2 June.

It’s LEAF Open Farm Sunday on the weekend of 8 – 9 June. A fab chance to get the kids out in the fresh air for a nosey round some farms. Explore Hope Farm in Knapwell, where there’ll be tractor and trailer rides, farm machinery on display, farming stands, bee walks, butterfly expeditions, pond dipping and bug hunts. At MHS Farms near Thorney there’s PYO Spuds, a Kids Zone, bread making and sausage making demos, a farmers market, sheep show and chance to meet the animals. Over in Suffolk at Valley Farm Equestrian Leisure there’s the chance to meet horses, alpacas, peafowl, goats and donkeys and enjoy the play area. Finally Kenton Hall Estate in Debenham has a food fair, donkey rides, outdoor activities and tractor rides plus a BBQstreet food, a tea room and cookery demos.

The Wildlife Trust BCN is running its annual 30 Days Wild initiative throughout June to help people reconnect with nature and give them mental health a boost on a daily basis. This year marks the 10th anniversary and if you sign up you receive a free pack through the post or via email with inspiration for activities to do with 30 easy ways to connect with nature. There’s also the Big Wild Weekend camp out for nature from 14-16 June.

OUTDOOR CINEMA & THEATRE

The Enchanted Cinema has a packed schedule of classic outdoor cinema shows at lots of lovely Cambridgeshire and West Suffolk venues this month: The Greatest Showman at Skylark Garden Centre on 14 June; Barbie on 15 June at Skylark Garden Centre; Dirty Dancing on 16 June at Skylark Garden Centre; 22 June at The Willow Tree Bourn and 28 June at Clare Castle Country Park; Wonka on 23 June at The Willow Tree Bourn; and Top Gun (1986) on 29 June at Clare Castle Country Park. Tickets from £8.

The cinema can be eye-wateringly expensive these days (I nearly choked on my popcorn last time I visited and heard the price!). The good news is you can watch films for free in Cambridge this month at the al fresco cinema on Market Square. On the schedule… Super Mario and One Day on 31 May and Trolls Band Together and Mean Girls (2024) on 28 June. Channel your inner German holidaymaker if you’re planning to go though… chairs are available on a first come first served basis so you need to bag yours early.

The outdoor cinema screen will also be making an appearance on Station Road next to The Clayton Hotel on 19 June for a showing of Barbie.

It wouldn’t be outdoor theatre season without some fabulous shows from The Pantaloons and this summer the residents of East Anglia are in for a treat as they take a tour of some of the region’s best-loved pubs and venues. The Chestnut Group are hosting the company’s latest adaption of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the following dates this month: 17 June at The Ship, Dunwich; 18 June at The Weeping Willow, Barrow; and 26 June at The Packhorse Inn, Moulton.

If you can’t make it to your favourite pub this summer, you can also catch the same performance at the Ickworth Estate, Bury St Edmunds on 27 June.

Summer Nights at Ferry Meadows, Nene Park begin this month, an open-air programme of film, music and theatre. First up at the open-air cinema overlooking Gunwade Lake is action thriller Meg 2: The Trench (12A) on 27 June at 7:15pm, followed by The Greatest Showman on 28 June at 7:15pm. The outdoor cinema action continues with Dirty Dancing on 29 June and Bollywood action thriller Pathaan on 30 June.

OUTDOORS

There’s so much to do at the stunning Nene Park near Peterborough in the summer that you’ll want to schedule several visits to cover it all. In June our tops picks are the Wildlife Boat Trip on 15 June, the Guided Walk round Thorpe Meadows Sculpture Trail on 18 June, the Dragon Boat Festival on 22 June and the outdoor cinema festival ‘Summer Nights’ (see above).

There’s plenty of water-based fun to be had at Waresley Park Estate in Cambridgeshire too with paddleboarding sessions on the lake every Sunday from 1-2pm in June and a magical full moon swim in the lake followed by hot drinks round the fire pit on 20 June. All info here.

The gardens at Helmingham Hall are open this month with a beautiful sculpture exhibition – David Harber at Helmingham, a curated collection of large-scale pieces in copper, bronze, stone and steel. David is one of the UK’s leading garden sculptors and each nature-inspired sculpture has been carefully selected by the team at David Harber in collaboration with the Tollemache family at Helmingham Hall to reflect and enhance specific areas of the gardens. The exhibition runs until 30 September.

Enjoy summer to the max this month is at Cambridge’s Nature Festival until 30 June. Events will include the guided walks, bird watching with experts, wildflower workshops and learning to willow weave.

Feeling fit? Sign up for the community colour run in Capel St Mary on 23 June, at 2pm. it’s a run for all ages and abilities where you can walk or run as many laps as you wish around the Capel St Mary playing field passing through different coloured powder paint stations along the way – creating a rainbow of paint-splattered participants. There will be food stalls, music and a bubble machine to enjoy at the end.

It’s peony picking season at Bury Lane Farm Shop and the fields are starting to turn pink with thousands of PYO peonies. It’s a stunning sight and very instagrammable – so channel your inner influencer and get picking. Keep an eye on Bury Lane socials for updates on when the season is ending of if bad weather has closed the field.

Bat punting tours in Cambridge are also back this month until September. The tours set off at dusk, and each guest is given a hand-held bat detector to pick up on the bats’ echolocation, while a Wildlife Trust guide interprets bat species from the clicks and squeaks, and all the other sounds of the riverbank. As the sun goes down the waterway comes alive with all sorts of wildlife, and the nocturnal sights and sounds create a spellbinding atmosphere. Every Friday and Saturday evening:

Joyful June! 70+ things to do locally this month

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