Apley Farm Shop

I've known about Apley Farm Shop since last year, thanks to Twitter and Facebook, but it's only just opened last Thursday.  The Apley Estate is around 8,500 acres.  It's near Bridgnorth in Shropshire, and is bissected on a North - South line by the River Severn.  The shop is a tasteful development, using old farm buildings.

The shop sells produce from the estate, and other carefully selected producers.  When I called there was asparagus from nearby Quatt.

There was freshly baked bread, from Bridgnorth (4 miles down the road):

and a butchery department:

which sold Shropshire Faggots:

and home-made sausage.  I was recommended the pork and marmalade sausage, but thought they might be too sweet for my palate so tried the pork and cider sausage instead.  

Talking of drink, there was a nice selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, including Wood's Shropshire Lad, Hogans Cider, Hereford dry gin from Tanners and vodka from the Chase Distillery.

However my personal favourite has to be Hobson's Postman's Knock which is a rich ruby porter. It's  a fantastic drink from a great brewery, made next door to where my wife's family used to farm.  It's a far cry from the mild we sometimes tried as teenagers in 19**, which contained the contents or drip trays and worse!

For those with a sweet tooth they sell Farmer Dawson's Ice-cream:

which I have to confess I've not tried, only because they also sell Just Rachel's fantastic ice-cream.  Sadly they didn't have my favourite (Damson and Sloe Gin), - they said it was out of season.  So I had to make do with Treacle Toffee (which I thought was a November ice-cream, and therefore before the sloe gin?), lemon with lemon curd, and as my white chocolate loving son is coming home soon, white chocolate with raspberry ripple.  Unfortunately I didn't have room in my tiny freezer for gooseberry elderflower variety, but all of Just Rachel's ice cream tastes at least as good as if you'd made it yourself.


Every good meal should be finished with cheese.  On offer at Apley Farm Shop was a careful selection of good cheeses.  They sold Appleby's Cheshire, Elgar mature and Tanatside cheese. It always nice to see someone who's taken the trouble to find a Single Gloucester cheese and I'd go all round the Wrekin to find Mr Moyden's Wrekin White!

If you're reading this on Mother's Day (sorry Mum, Mothering Sunday), there's also a café (if you kids are old and rich enough to take you out), and a play barn (if they're not)!


Apley Farm Shop
Stockton Buildings
Norton
Shifnal
Shropshire
TF11 9EF


Tel: 01952 730345


Web: www.apleyfarmshop.co.uk