The Hog and Hen Farm Shop

Pigs and poultry are big news at this family-friendly farm shop in the Suffolk countryside. It's a story that could unfurl on TV. Family sells eggs at farm gate: custom increases. They soon start to sell out of free-range chickens and Kelly Bronze turkeys, supplying local butchers. Next come a farm shop packed with local goodness, a nature trail, an enclosed play area and a coffee shop with natural, chunky wood décor. 'What's next on the menu?', one wonders.

Three couples provide the energy behind The Hog and Hen today. Between Mark and Rachael, Nathan and Naomi, and Luke and Anna, polytunnels are tended, animals are reared with kindness, cakes - including fab gluten-free ones - are baked, coffee is served and pork and red onion sausage rolls fly out of the door. The café's lovely garden blooms with wildlife-rich flowers, while happy goats and (zero-food-miles) chickens mill around. An ideal, child-friendly spot if heading to Norwich from the south, it's also a nice stop-off after visiting the 16th-century gardens at Helmingham Hall, nearby.