When I was invited to visit Yeo Valley Farm for the day I honestly thought that it would involve a tour around their factory to see how they make and package their yoghurt.
How wrong I was.
Last Friday myself and four other bloggers, Circus Queen, Knitty Mummy, Bishopston Mum and Being Mrs C arrived at the Organic Garden Tea Rooms to be met with biscuits and cups of tea. This is when I realised that the day was going to be a lot more exciting than I had expected.
First of all we all bundled into two land rovers and drove up to the top of the valley (yes it is actually in a valley!) where Will’s Barn is situated. The barn has been renovated in a way that means it is completely energy efficient and it’s used as a classroom for all the school children that visit the farm to learn about sustainability, farming and the countryside. They are taught by Les and we had the pleasure of experiencing one of his tours. His enthusiasm really stood out and I think he could have read a crisp packet and made it sound interesting. He adored the valley and it’s not really surprising to see why.
Then we went into the barn for some yoghurt tasting. I have been buying Yeo Valley yoghurt for years but I didn’t realise how many flavours were in their full range, my local supermarket only sells three of them. My favourite by far was the lemon curd, it is just amazing.
Then it was back down to the tea rooms for lunch, which was cooked in front of us by the totally gorgeous Jaime. He smoked trout (from Blagdon lake), made sourdough bread and showed us how to make the simplest cheesecake, using yoghurt of course! And I have to say it was one of the nicest cheesecakes I have ever tasted.
After lunch we went out to be shown around the garden by James, the head gardener. Their garden is certified organic which is rare for an ornamental garden and it is absolutely beautiful. We were shown where they make their own compost and how they make plant food out of comfrey and nettles which was really interesting.
We couldn’t have left without seeing the famous cows so we went and saw them being milked, because of all the rain they have had to go back inside but hopefully our weather will improve soon and they can go back out and enjoy the grass.
Then it was back to the tea rooms for tea and scones. And to receive our rather wonderful supply of yoghurt.
I was so impressed by Yeo Valley as a company, they sell so many million pots of yoghurt but at the heart of it all is a family run farm set in gorgeous surroundings, plus their yoghurt is delicious!
There is so much more to the company than I realised and if you are interested in visiting their tea rooms, booking a tour or reading about Yeo Valley education then you can read all about it on their website – www.yeovalley.co.uk/.
Yeo Valley invited us to spend the day with them and provided us with lunch.
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