Ashvale Farm Shop: A Home-Grown Hero

Ashvale Farm Shop, a Calor customer, is a family-run business located in the Bailesmills countryside near Lisburn, County Down. With generations of farming heritage, the Ashvale Farm Shop has been owned and run by the Herron family since 2014.

The Herron family are deeply passionate about sustainability, the agri-sector and rural life, in particular, the remarkable local produce that is grown in County Down. Ashvale’s passion and efforts to provide their local customer base a wide range of nutritious home-grown foods such as the potatoes from nearby Comber, is also reflected in their choice of using Calor LPG in the kitchen at Ashvale Farm restaurant to reduce their carbon footprint.

Like many local providers, Ashvale Farm Shop was impacted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Herron family took the decision to adapt their business by offering an online service and providing local delivery of their fresh goods to their loyal customers. Providing a sustainable business such as this meant The Farm Shop produce meant that the Herron family could continue to prepare their homemade goods during the difficult period of lockdown.

Speaking about the business, owner Edward Herron said:

“At Ashvale, we believe our customers want simple, honest, wholesome food which retains the ethos of ‘home-cooked’. Sustainability is one of the main pillars to our success. We are lucky enough to work in partnership with local artisan producers, stock local brands, as well as home growing, so our customers receive the quality they expect from Ashvale. For instance, our honey comes from the neighbouring town of Hillsborough, our free-range eggs and duck eggs are from Crossgar, our tomatoes are grown locally in the village of Drumbo, whilst our potatoes hail from nearby Comber.

Ashvale Farm Shop provides a unique experience for all of our customers, from foodies to shoppers, catering for everyone from our local neighbours to tourists from all over Ireland and beyond. We do look forward to welcoming people here to share with them the fruits of our labour in locally sourced produce and goods.”

The Ashvale business has grown overtime and developed into three different sections; The Farm Shop, The Tea Room, and The Little Shop.

The Farm Shop

The award-winning Farm Shop offers a wide selection of local agri-food and farm-based produce, in partnership with local artisan producers who are equally passionate about keeping food traditions alive. Where possible, the fresh food produce is also locally sourced. The Farm Shop is the Herron family’s platform to showcase and stock their own homemade produce, all lovingly prepared on the premises. From delicious daily baked breads, renowned homemade savoury pies, mouth-watering hot meals, to delightful desserts, delicious cakes and tray bakes. The Farm Shop is open Monday to Saturday, 9am- 5pm.

Tea Room

The Tea Room serves breakfast (9am- 11:45am), lunch (11.45am- 3:30pm) as well as Cream Tea and a wide variety of in-house sweet treats. The menu is altered seasonally and offers customers lots of choice when it comes to breakfast, lunch or sweet treats. Guests can also indulge in Afternoon Tea each day from 2:30pm.

The Little Shop at Ashvale

The Little Shop is the most recent addition to the Ashvale enterprise. The charming shop is full of local treasures, ladies clothing, home and giftware. The vast majority of stock in The Little Shop is produced on the island of Ireland. For example, beautiful jewellery from local designer Karen Sampson, candles and diffusers by the well-known Max Benjamin, fabulous fragrances by Jenny Glow and Field Day as well as textiles and homeware by the legendary Ulster Weavers. The Little Shop at Ashvale is open Monday to Saturday, 10am- 5pm.

To find out more on Ashvale Farm Shop or to make a booking, please visit http://www.ashvalefarmshop.co.uk/index.htm