You may have heard about Bruern Farms Shop, just a mile from Milton-under-Wychwood, but have you taken a drive out there to explore? Just 30 minutes from Witney, and easily accessible from the A40 through Shipton and Milton, you will find a genuine farm shop on a working 1,000-acre farm. The shop first opened in November 2020 and was extended in the summer of 2021, with a new café opening in December 2022.
Located on a third-generation family farm run by the Aston family since 1946, Henry Astor like many other farmers in the UK has moved his focus from traditional farming methods to that of integrating biodiversity with sustainable farming practices. The Bruern Estate has transitioned from conventional cropping to growing heritage grains, using restorative and regenerative methods. Stoneground wholemeal and white flour, milled from the Farm’s grains, is now sold in their Farm Shop. With a passion for the environment, the family has been working hard to create an eco-system where the result is healthy food production and increased biodiversity.
The Farm Shop and Café sell, and use produce grown and husbanded on the farm, including delicious pasture-fed English longhorn beef, free-range pork, wild venison, and pastured eggs with the chickens in close proximity to the farm buildings. Seasonal, organically grown vegetables are available throughout the year pulled from the vegetable garden just a few metres from where the shop is located.
When the Farm Shop was in the planning stages, suppliers were selected who shared the same ethos as the farm. They had to be reducing food waste, have a sustainable and eco-friendly production method, where possible be within a 50-mile radius of Bruern and be supportive of local charities. Bruern Farms has links with The Wychwood Project, Farmer Clusters and The Chippy Larder.
Alongside a range of unusual, organic, and local food items including honey, jams, preserves and pickles, real ale, and vegan treats such as Beetroot and Ginger Muesli, you will find a range of artisan gift items made within a five-mile radius of the shop. Coffee and teas from a Witney-based artisan coffee roastery are available to take away. The recently opened Café, with head chef Shana running the kitchen, offers a selection of farm-to-fork dishes using products sold in the shop.
During the year, Milton Market Cotswolds holds events where even more local traders gather to offer visitors a wide range of food products from delicious food to eat at the Market to take-away specialities. With over 46 stalls arranged around the Farm’s hardstanding car park, visitors have the chance to buy a range of artisan products and produce. The recent Christmas market also offered Christmas Trees grown on the Farm Estate. Since the first Milton Market Cotswolds event was held in May 2021, they have always attracted over 1,000 visitors who are able to pop in throughout the day. With parking close by and mobility access catered for, the Markets are a real community event. Plans are already being made for 2023 and to find out what is happening when keeping an eye on their Instagram page Milton_Market_Cotswolds.
The location of the Bruern Farm Shop and Café makes it a perfect venue for walkers and their dogs as they are on the edge of the Foxholes Nature Reserve. Cyclists also enjoy stopping off to buy drinks and food as they tour the area. Dogs are welcome in the Café Garden but must be well-behaved and on leads. The Shop sells a range of doggie treats, including handmade leather collars and leads.
For further information visit bruernfarms.co.uk, Facebook @bruern_estate, and Instagram bruern_farms. The Farm Shop is open seven days per week from 9am until 4pm Monday to Saturday and 9.30am to 4pm on a Sunday. The Café will have different winter and summer opening times but plans to open a couple of evenings a week during the warmer weather.
