Syston Park Farm Shop & Café

Syston Park Farm Shop & Café sits on a low hill above Lincolnshire’s gentle fields, just outside Grantham, and makes the most of its sunny position with a wrap-around veranda, solar panelled roof and al fresco seating in the gravel courtyard.

Its productive fruit fields are open to the public to pick their own (in June & July with Christmas trees in December), but they also supply the cafe kitchen with ready ingredients, whether asparagus in spring, soft fruit in summer or pumpkins in autumn. That pipeline leads to freshly baked cakes topped with plump raspberries, asparagus soup and redcurrant jam, while much of the menu also showcases produce from the rest of Lincolnshire. Keep an eye on the specials board for some of the best dishes, such as a light curry, tomato and vegetable risotto or smoked haddock with hollandaise sauce.

The café is popular so it’s sometimes worth calling ahead to reserve a table, especially if you’d like one of the prized seats overlooking the parkland.