A pleasant place to break a journey

Tweet

On a long journey it’s always nice to have a bit of a break, if you can spare the time. And one of our favourite places to stop for a little while (if we happen to be passing that way, of course) is Snugbury’s ice-cream farm, near Nantwich in Cheshire, England. This family farm started selling ice cream as a sideline almost 40 years ago, and some years later, as a bit of a gimmick and to attract attention, they made a face on one of those big round straw bales and positioned it on rising ground where it could be seen from the road. From that evolved a tradition of making giant straw sculptures annually. Every summer they now create a giant steel-reinforced straw sculpture inspired by some topical subject, working with a local designer and sometimes with students from a further education college. They still sell their farm-produced ice-cream (around 30 flavours, varying with the seasons) from an old barn in the cobbled yard, and then you can stroll across the field (this year sown with annual wildflowers) to view the sculpture while you eat it. They also have a couple of pigs and a few goats you can go and see/ chat to while you stretch your legs. We don’t visit every year, but over the years we have seen giant reproductions of Big Ben, a radio telescope (representing the telescopes at nearby Jodrell Bank), a meerkat, a bumble bee, a dalek (which moved and made appropriate noises!), Peter Rabbit, a polar bear and an Olympic cyclist. This year they have created Paddington Bear. Always worth popping in if you happen to be driving on the A51! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2024.