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Surrey, England: Eating Farm to Table and Living Like a Local

Surrey England weekend in english countryside

 


Why Surrey?

As a not-quite-your-typical Brit (my father is British and I’m a citizen but haven’t ever lived in the U.K) and a traveler who seeks out opportunities to ‘live like a local‘ I recently leaped at the opportunity to do a week of house-sitting in the Surrey region of England with my fiancee.

I’d never been to Surrey but it sounded grand and when I did my research on Google (looking for local food, cider & wine as is my habit) I found that there were quite a few farms or farm shops nearby where I’d be staying as well as a few wineries. Challenge accepted! We decided to make it a point to do as much farm to table noshing and imbibing as possible.  

And I must say we gave it a valiant effort!

Flower Farm Shop in Surrey England
Flower Farm Shop in Godstone (Surrey, England)
FreshBeerNightGodstoneBrewers in Surrey England
Fresh Beer Night at Flower Farm with Godstone Brewers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Flower Farm Shop

Though we chose to go without a car for much of our trip, our house was fortuitously located less than a mile from a lovely farm and farm shop called the Flower Farm Shop. The Flower Farm is more than just a patch of land and a farm shop, it’s a full-on fully functioning farm with lambs, cows, pigs and chickens, extensive veggie gardens, pick-your-own berry fields and a lovely Cafe serving delectable baked treats, stellar cappuccinos, farm fresh egg scrambles and (what we heard to be) an excellent cream tea.

I can now say, with some authority, that the sausages at the Flower Farm Shop are some of the finest I’ve ever had (particularly the Lincolnshire and Cumberland sausages-we are suckers for a sage spiced filling!). And, buying chicken or lamb straight from the farm it was (organically) raised on really does make it taste that many times better. We roasted (with herbs from the farm), broiled, sauteed and baked away for a whole week-trying something different every day-without ever needing a supermarket run.

My fiancee also couldn’t get enough of the Flower Farm’s sausage pies and Godstone Brewers beer (made on-site!).

Searching for a Restaurant serving local fare..

Next up though-our goal was to find a local restaurant serving up farm-to-table fare (why not? There are plenty of farms in Surrey!) for our special ‘night out’ over the weekend. We found one by chance, after booking a night’s stay at the glammed up Sheperd Huts on Broomlands Farm in Oxted and seeing on their website that the hut owners also owned a nearby 16th century farmhouse restaurant serving primarily locally products. We made a reservation immediately.

What a good decision!

BotleyHillFarmhouse

 

The Botley Hill Farmhouse

The Botley Hill Farmhouse was everything we had hoped for and more. Particularly for an American and a Spaniard (my fiancée), getting to visit old fashioned historic farms & pubs like this in England, is a treat. So typically ‘English’ (at least in our minds)!

Everything from the sweeping views of the North Downs and grazing Botley Hill sheep, to the charmingly old fashioned yet comfortable, warm and tasteful decor and unique variety of smaller and larger dining rooms was picture perfect. To top off the fantastic ambiance and views, all of the servers at Botley Hill were smiling, welcoming, fast and professional and the food was flawlessly executed as well as surprisingly reasonably priced. Manuel had the duck leg and decadently creamy, layered potatoes Dauphinoise (with a beer brewed right on -site at the farm) while I opted for a ribeye (beef from the local Estate) served with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes and a small portion of perfectly crisp and golden house fries.

 

Botley Hill Farm to Table restaurant in Surrey England
Minced lamb (local) and hummus with pita (gluten free option)

 

We opted for Botley’s minced lamb and hummus with pita (with an option for gluten-free pita!!!!!!) as our starter. SO delicious!

These guys had me at ’16th century farmhouse’ and ‘farm to table’ but they secured my undying devotion by having a phenomenal gluten-free menu (including burgers WITH the bun!).

 

 

Botley Hill Farm to Table Restaurant in Surrey
Just before Sunset on the porch at Botley Hill Farmhouse

 

We left Botley Hill sadly after dinner, wishing we could stay all night but excited to spend some time at our little shepherd hut at Broomlands Farm Our hut, though tiny, was adorably appointed and featured an incredibly comfortable bed as well as wood burning fireplace, outdoor barbecue and fire pit and a mini-kitchen for us to make tea and coffee in. We enjoyed an evening on the farm, by our little fire, while drinking local Surrey cider we’d picked up at Priory Farm earlier in the day.

 

Sheperd Hut in Surrey
Botley Hill’s Sheperd Hut (at Broomland Horse Farm)

 

In the morning we dug into our breakfast basket (which the owners normally drop off outside your hut at a prescribed time) to find croissants, fresh gluten-free bread for toast, four eggs, marmalade, a little yogurt  and a few berries. A simple early morning breakfast before heading back to our (temporary) home to feed the kitty.

It’s safe to say we put on a few kilos after enjoying so much of Surrey’s bounty.  Though, to try to counteract our rapidly expanding (sausage & beer/cider) waistlines we did get out and hike or walk as much as possible.  There is a ton of National Trust land in Surrey so there’s no shortage of hiking and walking trails with great views.

If we’d had more time we would have loved to do more hiking as we now know that Surrey is just as great a spot for hiking and nature as it is for farm to table food and drink!

 

 

 

 

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16 Comments

  1. Chandi

    The Flower Farm and its shop sound like my kind of place! It sounds like you had a sweet time with each other and a yummy time with the food. Farms and pubs in England are doing such a great job these days with food.

  2. Brooke

    It’s true! things are really changing (not as fast as they do in the U.S or places like CA but I love this) when it comes to quality of food and caring about where it comes from. Long way to go though!

  3. Ana Ro

    This is my favourite kind of tourism: staying in a smaller place for a longer time and enjoying the food and ciders! 😀 I’m going to the UK in November, so thanks for the tips!

  4. Alexander Popkov

    I was always wondering, what typical British food is like. Not sure if it is the one, but I would love to drop to one of farmhouses.

  5. Hang Around The World

    One of our favorite things to do when we discover a new place is to taste all the local foods it offers!
    This place looks very cozy and homemade but first of all characteristic, good 🙂

  6. Abigail Sinsona

    The Botley Hill farmhouse is my kind of place! This is such a great guide and experience that I could see myself doing too. I’ve always been a fan of farm to table restaurants so this would be a perfect travel idea.

  7. Sandrina Ferreira

    I lived in the UK for 4 years but never when to this Surrey. The Flower Farm sound like my favourite place, I definitely will enjoy it. England is so great with pubs but I also love the cosy feeling that you have in certain places like the tea shops.

  8. Brooke

    agreed! I couldn’t think of a more ‘cozy’ place than an English pub or tea room! That’s one of the side benefits of having someone dreary weather-you get to hunker down in lovely little places and enjoy a hot bevvie. I find it really motivating (as far as writing and working remotely) to be honest! When it’s sunny and everyone is outside doing things I feel stifled writing and working inside-and don’t get as much done.

  9. Brooke

    Abigail-thank you! What have been your favorite farm-to-table experiences/regions so far?

  10. Brooke

    I couldn’t agree more…. I love to eat everything in an new region. My waistline doesn’t benefit but it’s still a lot of fun! 🙂

  11. Brooke

    Sausages are very typical British food, as are mashed potatoes and sausages, meat pies, fish and chips, anything with chips (of course seasoned with malt vinegar) etc. Lots of meat and potatoes….:) So these places were all very typical but at the same time were farm-to-table and organic which is not always typical but interest in eating more and more organically and fresh like this is really growing in U.K. There are other regions that are much bigger on the farm-to-table scene in England (like the Cotswolds) but what I liked about Surrey is it’s up and coming so prices are good and you don’t see huge crowds everywhere

  12. Brooke

    Me too! I almost get mad now when I only have a weekend somewhere. I think how on earth could I get to know a place in just a couple of days! Whenever possible I do it this way :). Where are you headed in November in the U.K?

  13. Clara

    It seems you had such a great time there! I would love to live such a Farm experience, England is surely the best place for that! 🙂

  14. Adrenaline Romance

    Very charming places! Farm to table establishments like these guarantee that your food is fresh, delicious, and made of local ingredients. When we visit a place and get hungry, farm to table restaurants are the first establishments we seek.

  15. Chiera McLaughli

    Even just the name Surrey sounds like such a quaint little place. Looks like you had a really lovely, authentic trip! Nothing like knowing exactly where your food is coming from!

  16. Benjoe Vidal

    FIrst time to heard farm-to-table, I wish we had that kind of resto in our country. Looks interesting since the foods are freshly served. 🙂

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