Shops are springing up at farm gates as customers enjoy the freshest of produce
A crop of farm gate shops have sprung up across the Shropshire countryside allowing people to enjoy the produce and see where it has been created.
From pop-up stalls selling eggs or new potatoes to highly sophisticated vending machines selling everything from free milk to cheese and even joints of meat, fresh from the farm is proving popular with customers.
One new outlet is Brooklands Dairy at Dudleston Heath near Ellesmere.
The venture was created by Paul Hickson, who has an organic dairy farm, and Helen Austin.
Brooklands allows people to buy pasteurised milk, milkshakes and farm made gelato, overlooking the farm where the herd of Brown Swiss Cows graze and are milked.
Helen said: "The organic milk the cows produce has a high fat and protein content and we thought it would be nice for people to be able to buy milk, pasteurised on the farm, direct from the farm."
"They can buy a glass milk bottle that then can be refilled time and time again. And, if they want to, they can add a shot of flavouring to create a milkshake - which is incredibly popular."
They also started to research traditional gelato - traditional Italian ice cream.
"We worked with an Italian family company and now make gelato on the premises using the organic milk. People can enjoy it here watching the cows going to be milked or they can take it home in insulated, re-usable containors."
"We have been blown away by the response from people and the lovely things are customers are saying about us. We have just launched two new flavours and produced a special edition to celebrate the gold Olympic medal won by Oliver Townend who lives in Dudleston Heath."
