Eating and shopping at Ickworth

A stylised photograph looking down on table with a cream tea for two, with scones and jam and mugs of tea. — Grab a tasty treat on your visit to Ickworth | © National Trust Images/William Shaw

The West Wing and Porters Lodge cafés offer indoor and outdoor seating with a variety of hot and cold drinks as well as light snacks and cakes. Or bag a bargain in the shop or plant centre as a souvenir of your visit.

Grab a bite to eat

Stop by the West Wing or Porters Lodge cafés and grab a hot drink and a light snack to fuel your visit exploring the estate.

West Wing

Open 10am to 4.30pm daily, serving lunch, a varity of cakes, snacks, light-bites and drinks.

The West Wing café is located up the gravel path towards the Rotunda. Follow step--free access through the shop and you'll find plenty of indoor seating. You can get takeaway bits if you prefer, or sit and stay a while inside or out on the sunny south-facing terrace of the Italianate Garden. There is an assortment of hot food choices and home-baked cakes. The sweet treats change seasonally, so pop in to see what's popular next time you're here. Please note, dogs are not permitted in the West Wing or the Italianate Garden, but we do have a dog-friendly café with indoor and outdoor seating

Porter's Lodge

Open 10am to 4.30pm daily, serving light-bites, hot snacks and drinks.

Find Porter's Lodge on your way from the Welcome Point, a few seconds walk up a hard surfaced path. Around the side you will find a servery window where you can choose drinks and snacks and there is a choice of ice cream flavours in the warmer months. The window around the back is where you will pick up your order, and then either take it inside Porter's Lodge, or head around back to where a number of large wooden benches are dotted throughout the shaded, tree-covered garden. Porter's Lodge is dog-friendly indoors and out with plenty of home comforts for your four-legged friend. You can also fill your water bottles up from here.

Deerpark trailer

During our peak season in the spring and summer months, and subject to staffing levels, an additional trailer serving hot drinks, cakes and bakes sits just at the gates that lead into the parkland. You can grab yourself a takeaway from here if you want to get straight out onto a walk. Alternatively there is a small selection of informal outdoor seating here on the grass in nice weather. When we can during school holidays, we have a barbecue next to the trailer that serves meat and meat-free options.

Visitor at Porter's Lodge Cafe at Ickworth, Suffolk — Visitor at the Porter's Lodge cafe at Ickworth, Suffolk © National Trust Images/Oskar Proctor | © Oskar Proctor

Allergen information

Most of the food and drink served is prepared on site in our kitchen, using a wide range of ingredients. As a result, we can’t guarantee that any of our food and drink products are completely allergen free.

If you have an allergy or intolerance and would like ingredient information about the food and drink served, please ask the staff, who will be happy to help.

Always check when you visit

Visited before? We sometimes change our recipes to improve quality and flavour, including the ingredients. When you visit, please speak to one of our team to check the current allergen information for your favourite dish.

Our values

Sustainable production is at the heart of our values. The National Trust are the winners of several awards for the pioneering use of sustainably produced food in our cafés.

As a conservation charity we are unique in how we cater for millions of visitors every year by putting welfare and conservation, not profit, at the heart of everything we do.

The National Trust is the UK’s biggest farmer looking after over 600,000 acres of farmland with our tenant farmers. We require all our farmers to use nature-friendly farming techniques.

For things we can’t produce ourselves we apply these same regulations to all our external suppliers too. That’s why you will see labels such as ‘farm assured’, ‘free range’ and ‘rainforest alliance’ throughout our cafés.

Phasing out single-use cups

A single paper cup emits 110g of CO2 during its lifecyle and, on average, 7 million single-use cups get discarded at our properties every year. As a conservation charity, we're continually looking at ways to reduce our impact on the environment, and we're asking for your support to help us phase out single-use cups by the end of 2026.

To support us, all you need to do is bring your own reusable cup for takeaway drinks when you visit Ickworth. This will get you a 25p discount on your hot drink. If you don’t have a reusable cup and would like one, you can purchase one from our shop. Alternatively, you can still enjoy a drink in one of our cafés using a ceramic cup.

Thank you

Every cuppa or tasty treat you buy helps us to continue looking after places for everyone to enjoy.

A floral cushion and throw - part of the spring collection 2025 — A floral cushion and throw are part of the spring collection 2025 | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Shopping at Ickworth

Whether you're looking for beautiful gifts or a treat for yourself or a special occasion, there's something for all ages. From locally sourced food and treats, to books, rugs and home accessories, you’re sure to find inspiration in the shop.

Find the shop in the West Wing where step-free access will lead you through garden accessories and walking equipment, to a lovely range of From colourful scarves and throws to delicious gins and jams, there's plenty to suit all tastes. There's a great selection of books too, including the National Trust School of Gardening, the perfect gift for any budding gardener.

The plant centre

Don't miss a visit to the plant centre, which doubles as our Welcome Point in the main carpark. It stocks an array of plants throughout the year as well as garden tools, furniture and ornaments to keep your garden looking beautiful. During certain seasons you will find fresh produce from the garden available for donations on a little stand out the front, and an ice cream cart during summer holidays. Inside there is a stand of hand-made items crafted by our volunteers and available for a donations. At the till you will find pin badges and guidebooks, you can get your National Trust Passport stamped or even sign up for membership! Pop in here at the start of your visit for maps, tickets and directions.