Nick and Jenny Shaylor had never milked a cow when they arrived at Gorsehill Abbey Farm in August 2019. Their organic dairy sits between Broadway and Willersey at the foot of the Cotswold hills. The farm had belonged to an organic dairy farmer and cheesemaker, and his widow would only sell to a family who'd keep farming to his principles. The Shaylors have. The land has been certified organic since 1990 and is farmed to Soil Association standards. Their Jersey-cross herd is entirely pasture fed, on fresh grass, hay and haylage, grazing the farm's old pastures and orchards, and milked once a day. The milk is gently pasteurised in small batches on the farm, never homogenised, and sold from a fill-your-own dispenser in the honesty shop that now occupies the old milking parlour. It took two Great Taste stars, which very few milks anywhere have managed. The ice cream they started making for neighbours during lockdown took a star of its own, and the Cotswold Lavender flavour is made with lavender cut at Snowshill. The shop also carries honey from hives on the farm, their own apple juice, eggs from Billy's Eggs at Stow-on-the-Wold and gingerbread, and it's a collection point for Oxton Organics veg boxes. Their neighbours at Kite's Nest Farm raise organic beef and lamb, and the two farms host pop-up markets together. I met Nick at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture festival this summer. They're exactly who the festival is for.

Awards and Recognition

Great Taste Awards: two stars for their organic milk and one star for the chocolate orange ice cream (2023). One of only a handful of milks worldwide to hold two stars.

Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gorsehillabbey Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Gorsehill-Abbey-Farm-100070327235265/

Can people visit or buy direct?

Yes. A self-service honesty farm shop on the farm at Collin Lane sells milk from the dispenser, milkshakes, ice cream, honey, apple juice, eggs and seasonal produce. Ice cream is also stocked at Russell's of Broadway, Cotswold Lavender at Snowshill and farm shops, delis and campsites across the Cotswolds.

Website

http://gorsehillabbeyfarm.co.uk

Address Summary

Collin Lane, Broadway, Worcestershire