A journey along the A12 now offers a good reason to pull in for more than a coffee. Fen Farm Dairy has opened a mini farm shop beside Two Magpies Bakeries, bringing its cheeses, butter, yogurt and raw milk together with food from other Suffolk suppliers.
For a dairy whose Baron Bigod cheese travels as far as the US, Paris, Japan and Australia, the new shop makes a more local point: some of Suffolk’s best ingredients can be picked up on the way through, ready for a weekend lunch, a well-stocked holiday kitchen or a supper that starts with the producer rather than the supermarket aisle.
The shop is Fen Farm Dairy’s third retail outlet, joining its farm shop and a site at Eye Airfield off the A140. Jonathan and Dulcie Crickmore, third-generation dairy farmers, have invested around £80,000 in converting the A12 site into retail and storage space, including a cold store and freezer.
Alongside the dairy’s own produce, the shelves include vegetables, meat and baked goods from local suppliers. There is also takeaway coffee from an Etude machine made in Bungay. It is an appealingly practical stop: the sort of place where a passing visit can turn into the makings of a proper Suffolk meal.
A12 mini farm shop: practical information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | Beside Two Magpies Bakeries on the A12 |
| Opening | Seven days a week from 8am |
| Shopping | Mainly self-service, with staff on hand |
| Fen Farm Dairy produce | Cheese, butter, yogurt and raw milk |
| Other local food | Vegetables, meat and baked goods |
| Coffee | Takeaway coffee from an Etude machine made in Bungay |
Fen Farm Dairy began diversifying in 2013 and now employs about 60 people. Cheese production has grown from six tonnes in its first year to 160 tonnes, while annual dairy production is now around 250 tonnes. Baron Bigod has become its best-known name, exported around the world and reportedly Paris’s top-selling brie.
Open seven days a week from 8am, the A12 shop operates mainly on a self-service basis, with staff on hand. For travellers heading to the coast, or making their way home with a little extra room in the boot, it is a straightforward introduction to the food being made across Suffolk.