Farm Shop Invests £3m To Be Britain’s Best

The new venture is tipped to open up 80 jobs and will involve the creation of a number of new family-friendly attractions. The farm shop and deli, which are currently separate, will be brought together and relocated to a larger sight over the next two years and will incorporate a new bakery and smoke house.

“It sounds ambitious, but our intention is to become the country’s best farm shop,” says Robert Nicholson, managing director. “The expansion is heavily focused on making the farm an old-fashioned family attraction, and we’d like to draw people from all over the UK eventually. We’ve been welcoming visitors here for 22 years now and this is an opportunity to put everything we’ve learned during that time into this significant new development.”

The Easter weekend will see the unveiling of a new outdoor play area to include a climbing forest and innovative tube maze as well as a petting area where children can handle small animals. Future developments include an indoor play zone offering a high ropes course, drop slides and a children’s restaurant.

At present, 90% of the food sold in the farm shop is reared or produced on the farm, and Mr Nicholson is keen to maintain this figure. “The term ‘farm shop’ is thrown around quite a bit these days, and we want to get across the idea that we are one of the real ones!” he says. Indeed, each year 750 lambs, 800 piglets and 250 beef cattle are reared on surrounding pastures.

“The new shop will sell the same high-quality food we’ve become known for, but will also bring in more regional fare and as well as some new international ingredients. Although we know there are challenges ahead, it’s a very exciting time in the history of our business,” he adds.