La Hogue

Naval battles don’t usually lend their names to farms but then battleship timbers are not usually re-used to build farmhouses. La Hogue takes its moniker from a 17th-century sea brawl between Britain and France: the British won and hauled the timbers of the burned-out ships back home. Today, the bucolic farm shop and café sit alongside a working arable farm and if you are lucky, you may see the farm’s fold of sheep and Highland cattle grazing alongside the café. Owners Chris and Jo Reeks have used their farming knowledge to stock the shop with the very best of British produce. The butchery counter is a source of particular pride and if you’re planning a BBQ, the farm’s own sausages should definitely feature.

You can taste them first in the café as part of the excellent cooked breakfast. Light lunches, quiches, and jacket potatoes are on the menu during the day, and they pride themselves on having ‘the best selection of homemade cakes and desserts for miles around’, all best enjoyed on the terrace if the weather allows. Kids can canter about on the lawn and pedal around on toy tractors while parents admire the view down to the Newmarket gallops.