Apley Farm Shop opened its doors to the public on Thursday 31st March 2011 and features, as well as…read morethe farm shop itself, a café and a kids' playbarn.
We decided to visit today to check out all three. We had been fortunate enough to be invited to a special pre-opening event at the playbarn a couple of weeks earlier, so we already had an idea what kind of thing to expect. We were not disappointed!
As farm shops go, Apley raises the bar and sets a new standard. Housed in beautifully converted original farm buildings it's airy, spacious and very well laid out. I was responsible for trying to keep a sixteen month old in check, so wasn't able to take a close look at much of the produce on sale, but it's generally what you would expect from a high class delicatessen/farm shop, including some more unusual fare, like venison chorizo. Produce is generally locally sourced, including beef and game directly from Apley estate itself.
I don't do cafés, as I much prefer pubs, but this café is going to be an exception to that rule. Simple offerings, such as sandwiches, quiches, ploughmans' and so on, but the quality is exceptional. There's a kids' section on the menu, which steers clear of the deep fried stodge you find in far too many places. As you would expect, there's a tempting array of cakes and other sweet treats that all looked good. There's a range of red and white wines as well as the usual teas, coffees and some very nice soft drinks. I would like to see bottled ales available and noticed that they sell a range of local ones from Hobsons and Woods in the shop. A bottle of Town Crier would have slipped down nicely today.
The playbarn is currently the final piece in the jigsaw, although I believe that they plan to open a business centre here too. My wife is the expert on playbarns, having been to most of the local ones, but I gather this one is a little different to the rest. Kids' birthday parties are confined to separate, private rooms, which I think is a great idea. The seating area is therefore made up of comfy leather sofas with coffee tables and café style chairs and tables, all for grown ups, with complimentary newspapers and magazines provided. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soft drinks, ice cream and cakes are sold from the counter. Oh yes, the play section itself... well I enjoyed it, so it must be good! I'm pleased to see there's no ball pit, as I think these are just germ magnets.
In summary, I hope nobody reads this review as we would like to keep the place a secret, thank you very much!
