EcoLocal Farmers' Markets

A Visit to Etherley Farm

lowenergyheritage — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:10:15 +0000

Richard and Charlie Keen are regular stallholders at both the Wallington and Sutton Markets, bringing their delicious free range poultry and duck, goose and even turkey eggs to sell. More recently they have started producing a delicious aromatic honey, which is in great demand!

Charlie Keen at Sutton Farmers' Market

Their farm is situated at the bottom of Leith Hill in picturesque Surrey countryside,and even features on the “Etherley Farm Loop”, one of the designated National Trust Walks on and around Leith Hill.

Walking on Leith Hill

Charlie and Richard also offer camping on the farm, so we decided to take the family for two nights of traditional farm camping at the end of our Summer Holiday in August.

The campsite is delightful; yards from National Trust woodland in a secluded spot. Right in the heart of the countryside, the only sound is the almost constant chattering of the ducks and geese wandering about the front field.

Ducks, Geese and Sheep roaming free at Etherley Farm

Highlights of the visit included cooking tea on the camp fire – wood and kindling are available at the farm shop and with Etherley Farm chicken sausages and turkey burgers straight from the farm shop, you literally cannot get food more local! There is also a very good pub just 10 minutes up the road …

For more information about Etherley Farm, their produce and their campsite, visit http://etherleyfarm.co.uk

Summer Fruit musings

lowenergyheritage — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:03:22 +0000

I find myself musing about summer fruit at the moment, which I suppose is seasonally relevant. I have to say I was genuinely shocked to see the price of summer fruit in the local supermarket. Having bought several punnets of cherries at Wallington which were demolished in no time (and I would up until now have declared myself to be no fan of cherries, but these are simply delicious), I thought I would buy some more British cherries on my weekly shop. However, they were about twice the price! It just goes to show that there really are great seasonal bargains to be had at the Farmers’ Markets – something I though I knew well enough, but even I was surprised!

It was also nice to see piles of Merton Glory cherries on Ringden’s stall at the last Wallington market – can’t get much more local than a cherry bred 5 miles down the road.

The Traditional Cheese Dairy was a real treat, as expected. We tried the Lord of the Hundreds, a ewe’s milk cheese, which was something special, and the unpasteurised Broad Oak Cheddar, which has a real kick to it. Their stall is lovely too – they bring the whole cheeses and everything is cut and wrapped in front of you. It felt like a bit of France, only in the heart of Wallington.

I shall be off to Sutton High Street on Thursday to check out the state of the renovations and see if there is to be any disruption to the Sutton FM next Saturday (9.30 – 1.30 outside Waterstones). Hopefully the worst of the work is now over, and we can settle down to a routine of sorts. We had lots of banners and flyers out at Move It At the Manor today, so that should bring some new faces in.

Latest Farmers Market News and Views

lowenergyheritage — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:15:10 +0000

Welcome to the Ecolocal Farmers Market blog – the place to find the latest news and views from the Farmers’ Markets in Wallington and Sutton!

Looking forward to Saturday at Wallington – especially because we have a fab new cheese maker starting with us – from the Traditional Cheese Dairy in Sussex. Check out their website at http://www.traditionalcheesedairy.co.uk/ Can’t wait to taste their Broadoak Cheddar – my mouth is watering already!

Mapleleaf Watercress will be back this month too after their annual June break to re-seed their cress beds.

Weather is looking lovely too …