FOOD TRAIL DIGEST V South Sedgemoor, Exmoor & West Somerset The Somerset Food Trail Festival 2023 offers 17 days of curated, farm-to-fork events showcasing Somerset's best, most sustainable producers, farms, shops, chefs and eateries. Here's what's happening in and around South Sedgemoor, Exmoor and West Somerset during the Food Trail Festival. This is the fifth in our series of area-by-area Digests to help you pick your way through a jam-packed programme and plan your summer adventures in food! To see earlier Digests and explore the Trail, visit our website at: www.somersetfoodtrail.com |
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The South Sedgemoor cluster stretches from the western reaches of the Somerset Levels up towards the Bridgwater estuary and across to the Quantock Hills, straddling the M5 in the process. Intensely rural and varied, it is home to regenerative farms, market gardens, vineyards and, of course, craft cider makers! |
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MAUNDRILS FARM TA9 3QS Sat 15, 11am-4pm Farm open day tomorow. Organic registered for 23 years, this grassland farm next to the Bridgwater Bay estuary, raises beef cattle on diverse pastures, keeping bees, planting for pollinators and managing ditch and pond habitats for water voles and wading birds. | | |
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| | BERE CIDER COMPANY TA10 0QX Sun 23, 2pm onwards Craft cidermakers, trading from their working farm.they're celebrating the Somerset Food Trail with live music and, of course, cider! The Emerald Jazz Duo plays from 2pm and the cafe and shop will be open. No need to book but do turn up early. Bere Cider's events are popular! | | |
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| | THE MUMP MARKET GARDEN TA7 0RB Sat 15, Sat 22, Sat 29: 9am-3pm Guided tours around our farm on each Saturday of the Trail. Come and find out how we grow our seasonal vegetables adopting the no dig method, without the use of fossil fuels, synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, and how we maintain healthy living soil to nurture healthy biodiversity. | | |
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PEASEY FARM SHOP
& LAND GIRL APIARIES TA7 8QD Sat 15, 4pm-5.45pm and 6.15pm-8pm Peasey Farm is teaming up with Land Girl Apiaries (landless farmers using vertical space along hedgerows to produce delicious small batch honey) to provide a 30-mile feast with a difference. They are celebrating home grown meat and honey, with their pop up restaurant tomorrow. Enjoy the feast, learn how they raise their animals & meet the bees. Click below for the menu and to book. | | |
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OATLEY VINEYARD TA5 2NL Open daily, 11am-6pm A small, family run, eco-friendly vineyard in the secluded Somerset countryside. Established in 1986 we have been making international award winning wines since our very first vintage. Free tastings of dry white, and sparkling wines. Bring a picnic, buy wine by the glass or bottle, and enjoy this tranquil place. | | |
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Gothelney Farm Zero-miles Burger BBQ Gothelney Farm, Charlynch Road, Bridgwater, TA5 2PQ Sat 19 August,12noon-3pm *** Postponed from tomorrow*** Fred the Farmer and Rosy the Baker have postponed their Gothelney Farm Zero-Miles Burger BBQ to August 19, due to the forecast. Expect soft buns baked fresh in the bakery using farm grown and milled grain, bacon cured in the butchery and juicy beef mince from cows grazing the Gothelney pastures. |
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The case for regenerative farming To whet your appetite, we have this wonderful short video in which Fred shares his story of Gothelney Farm's transition from industrial farming to a regenerative system. It illustrates how regenerative farming can have a beneficial impact on nature and people, while at the same time helping combat biodiversity loss, climate change, and food waste – everything we are trying to promote through the Food Trail. This is a short extract: you can see the full video on the Circular Economy Show: https://bit.ly/42FgvWC |
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The western edge of Somerset is its remotest area and has some of the most scenic countryside in England. A unique landscape shaped by people and nature over thousands of years, Exmoor is one of 15 National Parks and ranges from wild windswept moorlands, valleys and farmland to some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in the UK. Large areas of Exmoor and the neighbouring Quantock Hills (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest due to their value for wildlife. |
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| | EAST QUAY KITCHEN TA23 0AQ Thurs 20 July, 7pm East Quay is a creative and cultural destination on the harbour side in Watchet. It is home to art galleries, artists' studios, shop, kitchen places to stay, and hosts a huge range of events throughout the year. On Thurs 20 July it is offering a locally sourced vegetarian three-course meal in conjunction with Plowright Organic. Starts at 7pm. | | |
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| | PLOWRIGHT ORGANICS TA5 1JB Thurs, Fri, Sat, 10am-6pm We have been growing and delivering organic vegetables since 2000. Our box scheme enables us to produce affordable organic food on a small scale, with less packaging and fewer food miles. Order our veg boxes, visit our self-service farm shop, open three days a week, and taste our veg at the East Quay Kitchen 30-mile feast (see left) on Thurs 20 July. | | |
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| | TORRE CIDER FARM TA23 0LA Owners' tour: Wed 19: 10.45am-11am Wed 19-Sun 23 July, 12noon-3pm Family-run craft cider producer using our own apples from our orchard, where it can be consumed on site making our food miles limited! We do not spray chemicals or pesticides and are working towards organic status. We have a free Owner's Tour on Wed 19. We'll also be serving ploughman's lunches from Wed 19 to Sun 23. Plus tours available on Saturdays | | |
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| | SQUIRRELS ARCHITECTURE & AGROECOLOGY / WITH THE WILD TA23 0LY Fri 21 July, 10am Guided farm tour of this small mixed regenerative farm in the eastern foothills of Exmoor. Our aims are to create a diverse, organic and ecological agroforestry system to grow, mill and process heritage grains for the local community and to provide educational and training opportunities in farm-to-fork processes. Booking required. | | |
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ROADWATER VILLAGE COMMUNITY SHOP & CAFE TA13 0QY Sat 15, Sun 16, Wed 19, Sat 29 Enjoy a light lunch with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible in our community shop and small cafe in Roadwater village near Watchet. We sell a variety of locally sourced products – fresh meat including sausages, ham, pies, quiches, cakes, cheeses, ciders, beers, apple juices, vegetables and fruit during the growing seasons. | | |
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The Somerset Food Trail is sponsored by THE PIG – near Bath whose restaurant sources 80% of its food from within 25 miles, supporting many of the food producers featured on the Trail. They have kindly offered us four tickets to their Party At The Pig on July 30th Follow us on social media for further details. |
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WIVELISCOMBE & SURROUNDINGS |
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WONKY HORN ORGANIC FARM TA4 2SF Wed 19 July, 7pm Wonky Horn (formerly Westcott Organic) is an organic grassland, mixed livestock farm and butcher in the Brendon Hills on the edge of Exmoor National Park. It's cooking up a Beef Feast on the farm on Wed 19 –think delicious longhorn beef cuts cooked over fire, with organic veg from Plowright Organic. Its beef will also feature in the Sitwell Supper Club special lunch (see below) on Fri 28. | | |
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SITWELL SUPPER CLUB LUNCH TA4 3PT Fri July 28, lunch: 12noon-2.30pm Wonky Horn farm tour: 3pm Telegraph restaurant critic and MasterChef judge William Sitwell and organic farmer Dan Holmes of Wonky Horn are collaborating to provide a delicious Sitwell Supper Club Special Food Trail Lunch. £45 per person for two courses, with kids under 10 eating for free. Followed by a farm tour of Wonky Horn at 3pm. Click below for the feast and on Wonky Horn's link above for the tour. | | |
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| | THORNE'S BUTCHERS TA4 3PT Open Mon to Sat Award-winning family butcher's shop founded in 1979. Naturally fed beef and lamb, outdoor reared pork, free range poulty and more. | | |
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| | PHOENIX KITCHEN TA4 2JY Open Tues to Sat Delicious, healthy wholefood food to take away, from homity pies, savoury tarts and quiches, to soups, salads sourdough toasties. | | |
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| | THE WIVEY LARDER TA4 3PT Open Mon to Sat Independent retail shop, stocking local loose fruit & veg, refillable cleaning products as well as locally sourced speciality cheeses, meats and pies | | |
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| | HORNER FARM'S SUMMER FEAST TA24 8HY Sat 22, 7pm Small family farm, tenants on the National Trust Holnicote Estate on Exmoor, that is working towards a farm that is in harmony with the environment through increasing biodiversity, lowering our impact & high animal welfare. Enjoy a Summer Feast in our barn to celebrate our meat plus veg grown onsite by Good Vibe Veg. Farm talk from host Holly. Cost: £14 to £30. | | |
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| | THE KIND KITCHEN TA24 5UA Open Wed to Fri, 9am-2pm, Sat Sat. 9am-1pm Small independent bakery and coffee shop on Friday Street in Minehead. We make and bake a range of naturally levained breads, pastries, cakes, pies and tarts using organic flour and local grains. We also stock organic olives, eggs, cheese and butter. We'll have samples to try Sat 15, and from Wed 19 to Sat 22. | | |
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To browse ALL Somerset Food Trail events in DATE ORDER click through to the website through the link below: |
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For a regular deep dive into Somerset's sustainable food news, local intel and insights, try The Wallfish Journal, a weekly reader-supported newsletter by Frome based journalist Hugh Thomas. | | |
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Or, look out for The Tale of a Teaspoon (on Instagram) by Vicki Hunter and sign up for her Food for Fork blog, packed with local food news and reviews and dates for your diary. 'The closer we are to what we eat and the shorter the farm-to-fork journey, the better it is for our health, our farmers and our planet,' says Vicki – and we agree! Vicki's two-part blog on her 'best bits of the Food Trail' and shortcuts for navigating it, is linked below. | | |
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The Somerset Food Trail is organised by Sustainable Food Somerset. If you would like to support our work promoting local, sustainable food and more nature-friendly ways of farming, please get in contact via the link below: |
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With thanks to our sponsors: |
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