The Farmers Bucher on Swallowfields Farm in Bramshaw expands with new farm shop

A THRIVING butchery business in Bramshaw has opened a new farm shop complete with takeaway and an outside seating area.

Owners of The Farmers Butcher at Swallowfield Farm, Mike and Sarah Alexander, say they have transformed the site into a “destination shopping experience”.

And customers can now enjoy a coffee and sumptuous cake while taking in the picturesque surroundings of the farm, or tuck into homemade pies and sausage rolls.

Sarah said: “Our current butcher shop is lovely, but small. We are also right next to the farmhouse at the back, and the butchery does sometimes get stupidly busy, despite not being easily accessible from the road.”

The butchers will now be housed in a bigger building, closer to the road, giving customers better access.

Produce includes Angus cross beef from the Swallowfields farm, free-range pork from Storm’s Farm, Cadnam, lamb from Parsonage farm in the village and Will Carter at Kilnyard Flock.

Now on offer is a new range of ready-to-cook meals, along with fresh bread, local cakes and hot food to take away like sausage rolls and pies.

Sarah said: “The new place is beautiful and we hope it will be a destination shopping experience.

“People can come and shop, grab a takeaway coffee and sit outside.

“We continue to be, first and foremost, a butcher with a ready-to-cook range, however. we will be able to offer a wider selection of local produce, including beers and ciders.”

She added: “We are primarily a farmer’s butcher with some lovely local food and drink on the side – not a farm shop with a butcher’s counter.”

The Farmers Butcher specialises in quality, local meats including pork from the Commoner’s Larder, chicken from Noah’s Ark, lamb from Parsonage Farm, and beef from Hampshire and Wiltshire farms.

A chalk board lists each farmer’s name alongside the meat available, so shoppers can be aware of where it comes from.

Sarah said: “Our priority is local, and if it isn’t local there is a damned good reason.

“For example, our meat sauces come from Ludlow because we weren’t able to source them locally, and Creedy Carver free range duck comes from Devon, because it is known to be the best.”

The Farmers Butcher, on Blackhill Road, is open Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 9am to 4pm.