Bardwell is located about ten miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds between the villages of Ixworth, Stanton and Honington.

The River Blackbourne passes about half a mile west of the village.

Until the 20th century there were two working mills in Bardwell, a watermill and a windmill.

In the churchyard is the grave of Henry Addison, born in Bardwell in 1821 he joined the British Army and won the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions in the Indian Mutiny.

Amenities within the village of Bardwell include a post office and two pubs (the Dun Cow and the Six Bells).