I took the family to stay at the Anchor Inn in Walberswick on the Suffolk coast last weekend for some family fun with the pebbles, sand and sand dunes on the nearby beach. The Anchor has an interesting wine list sourced, I believe, from nearby Adnams (who also supply the real ale). And there is a big selection of bottled beers from around the globe. We tried the Deus Brut des Flandres Cuvee Prestige 2002 on our second night - a beer that is brewed in Belgium, comes in wine-sized bottles, is comparable in strength to wine, and undergoes second fermentation and the rest of 'methode champenoise' in, err, the Champagne region of France. It's not surprising to find it being served in glasses not dissimilar to Champagne flutes. It's very smooth, creamy and elegant with white fruits on the palate. However, I think there are 'straight' Belgian beers I'd choose ahead of it.

The food we had at the Anchor was excellent - so much so, that I came very close to repeating the exact same meal of the Thursday night on the Friday night (and not because of lack of choice). On Thursday, the ham hock and foie gras terrine was one of the best starters I've had for a while - a beautiful balance of coarseness and smoothness, saltiness and flavour - and a pork belly, black bean and chorizo stew was perfect after an afternoon on the beach. On Friday, seared scallops, bacon and artichoke puree replaced the terrine.

On the way back to Cambridge, we stopped off at Jimmy's farm (of TV fame) - home of the Essex Pig Company. We bought a selection of sausages all of which have been delicious (but the Ghurka is one of particular note - a pork sausage spiced with, among other things, fenugreek). I also purchased some, thick cut, saddleback bacon of a very high quality.