Brockley Stores

One of the best local food shops in Somerset, Brockley Stores started life 80 years ago as a roadside stall selling fruit and veg straight form the surrounding fields. Still very much wedded to the same ethos of fresh, local food – ‘grown not flown’, as they put it – the store is frequented as much by locals as tourists making the trip for the Brockley’s delicious range.

Luxuriant bouquets from Kimberley’s the Florist sit alongside crates of crisp fruit and vegetables, from peaty potatoes to rosy apples and crimson rhubarb harvested by candlelight, depending on the season. Fresh coffee from local roastery Extract is on sale at the door and the smell of baking wafts over the shop as the ovens are put hard to work creating Brockley Stores’ praised goodies, with quiches and pies held in particularly high esteem.

There’s a dedicated al fresco picnic area outside for lingering and plenty of gorgeous countryside on the doorstep for a leg-stretch.