Cool Place of the Day: Wainford Mill House, Suffolk

This renovated water mill and miller's house, just outside Bungay in Suffolk (and literally straddling the border between Norfolk and Suffolk) is a recently renovated gem, rescued in 2008 by two local brothers, who spent five years restoring it as a self-catering property.

It was a labour of love for sure, but you can immediately see what they saw in the place: it's a truly beautiful spot, a large double-fronted Georgian house backing onto a particularly scenic stretch of the Waveney river.

It can comfortably sleep 12 people in its six spacious bedrooms and would be the perfect venue for a special birthday or family gathering. Downstairs there is a large kitchen equipped with a range cooker, a double butler sink and a lovely large table; there's a walk-through sitting room that again can easily accommodate big groups plus a games room full of goodies at the front.

But the house's real treasure is the river itself, across which a pretty bridge accesses Suffolk (the house itself is in Norfolk!), the garden and the river bank, where you can float off on the brothers' carefully constructed raft, complete with table and chairs, or row down to Bungay for a pint or to get some supplies in. The garden is huge and has an outside pizza oven and lots of chairs for afternoon lazing, and it's nice to be able to say you've holidayed in both Norfolk and Suffolk at the same time. In any case Wainford Mill House is the perfect East Anglian idyll whether you’re north or south of the border.

Cool Places is a new website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)