Nestled in a valley in the pretty village of Broadbottom is a farm shop boasting a wealth of home made produce and some pretty special views. Lymefield farm shop, garden centre and tearooms has been growing and growing over the past 25 years and is hailed a "hidden gem" by regulars to the Tameside destination.
The farm shop tea rooms boast outdoor terraces with stunning views out across the green fields outside which lead down to the River Etherow. And if you're wondering why the field is quite so immaculate, it's because it's specifically grown as turf to be sold at the adjoining garden centre.
It's all part of the transformation of the historic farm site which has been owned by the Pryce family for the past 100 years. Initially a dairy farm, 25 years ago they decided to diversify with a garden centre - starting it all off with a "couple of polytunnels" on their land.
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A small tearoom followed five years later, before a purpose-built extension was added to the site ten years ago to house a fully-stocked farm shop and large tearooms with the outdoor terraces. The aim was to find a space to showcase their own home-reared lamb at the butchers, as well as local pork from the neighbouring village of Chisworth.
Now, as well as the fresh meat, veg, bakery and wealth of home-made cakes, they also hand-make on the site pork pies, ready meals, sausages and their "famous" cheese and onion pie. You can buy it by the slice in both the shop and in the tearooms and it remains one of their most popular dishes.
Visitors have praised the venue on Tripadvisor, with Connor Murphy hailing it a "must visit" saying: "Attended here with my partner for a nice spot of lunch on a Friday afternoon while on annual leave. The staff were friendly and attentive and the food was delish."
Reviewer Walt said: "Views outstanding and produce in farm shop top notch," before cheekily adding: "With food this good it’s no wonder the local village is called broad bottom haha!"
The tearoom's menu boasts cooked breakfasts in the morning through to a full hot menu at lunchtime, including that cheese and onion pie with salad for £9.45 or wedges for £10.45, while there's a massive cabinet of home-made cakes priced from £3.45 such as lemon drizzle, chocolate fudge and scones. You can also pick up slices of cake, scones, lemon buns and fruit tarts to take away from the farm shop from £1.75.
Farm shop manager Mark Francis said it came into its own during lockdown, where local residents would queue out the door to pick up groceries. He said: "We've always tried to be the sort of farm shop where you can actually pick up a meal for the whole family here.
"All too often with places like this you walk around and pick up a few things but get home and realise you can't make a meal with it. Here we've got the fresh meats, the fresh vegetables, ready meals, sauces, a bit of everything really to feed the family."
The butcher on site started out as a space to showcase the farm-reared sheep but soon expanded to offer the local pork farmed in the area, which is also used to make their own sausages and pork pies. The tearooms became another way to showcase and offer all the local produce, and continues to use everything from the shop in the meals served in there.
Mark added: "We open seven days a week now and we feel very fortunate that we're busy all the time. People are looking for places to go, and there’s not that many farm shops in Manchester really, especially ones where there's more than just the farm shop to go to.
"We're lucky to be in a nice spot here and families like to explore the village and along the trails."
The location has become the ideal base for families visiting the Lymefield and Broad Mills Heritage Trail which is accessed just up the lane from the farm shop. The half a mile trail is signposted and well maintained with gravel footpaths, and includes things for children to do along the way including a woodland play area.
The trail explores the history of the once thriving mill complex at Broadbottom. Broad Mills was once the largest of the textile mills formed here in the early 18th century, next to the River Etherow.
Now in ruins, the mill site can be spotted at different spots along the way as you weave through wildflower meadows and woodlands. The trail weaves past the river and alongside a former mill pond used in the former textile works.
How to get there
Lymefield Farm Shop, Garden Centre and Tearooms are located at Lymefield in Broadbottom - for those driving use the postcode SK14 6AG for sat nav. It's around a 10 minute drive off the M67 motorway.
For those travelling by public transport, the shop is located around a ten minute walk from the main line Broadbottom train station. This is on the Glossop to Manchester line with trains once an hour in both directions. It's around 20 minutes from Manchester to Broadbottom on the train.
The tearooms open daily from 9am to 4pm (and from 10am on Sundays) while the farm shop and garden centre is open until 5.30pm. There's a large free car park for customers.
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