Hockey's Farm Shop

Animal lovers and foodies will love this stop. Not only can you pick up a respectable grocery shop – all of noble provenance – you can also meet the farm creatures: alpacas, donkeys, pigs, sheep, and even chicks in spring. It’s a working smallholding and the team are passionate about low intensity methods and supporting other, likeminded producers nearby so you can shop with confidence.

The Farmyard Café is in a charming wooden cabin over the way from the farm shop but plunders the shelves for ingredients (so if you like what you taste, you can attempt it yourself back at home). The bacon and pork has a really unique flavour thanks to the Hockey pigs being allowed to graze in the New Forest over winter. The café counter groans beneath the weight of the cakes and bakes, served next to cooked breakfasts, toasties, veggie burgers and cream teas.

There are plants and a bric-a-brac shop to browse, and of course you’re on the edge of the New Forest so there’s potential for a glorious forest wander if you’re not in a rush.