Situated on the Blickling Estate, Samphire is a farm shop of distinction. Stocking all manner of edible delights, from rare-breed sausages (said by Gary Rhodes to be the best he’d ever tasted) and homemade cakes to locally grown fruit and veg and select gourmet produce that you may not find easily in other food outlets in Norfolk, it is a foodie haven worth knowing about.

 

 

Passionate about fresh, high quality food and how it is prepared, owners Karen and Jeff Nethercott gave up their jobs to set up a smallholding in Matlask, South Norfolk in 2000. They then moved to their current location at Sycamore Farm, opening Samphire as the smallholding took off. Originally four acres of ancient pastures and hedgerows, Sycamore Farm has expanded by a further three acres and Karen and Jeff have carefully maintained the natural lay of the land by planting an orchard and replanting hedgerows and copses.

 

 

Starting with a few chickens and ducks, the smallholding has come a long way. Now it is home to geese, sheep and pigs, not forgetting the 5 dogs and 6 cats that are domestic pets of the Family.

 

 

Everything grown and reared on the smallholding either ends up on the table at Sycamore Farmhouse or is sold in Samphire and the Farmers Markets that Karen and Jeff also attend. All organic, the likes of shallots, garlic, sweet peas, potatoes and rhubarb are grown in raised beds (psychologically easier to maintain says Karen, plus they warm up and drain more efficiently) using organic compost and other natural growing techniques. Most recently, a ‘solar tunnel’ has been added (a safe, greener version of the greenhouse), as seen on the likes of ‘River Cottage’ and ‘Jamie At Home’.

 

 

Karen says that they are self-taught in all their talents for farming. The expertise and techniques employed on the smallholding come from reading, watching and above all asking advice. This is evident when you listen to some of the wonderful stories they tell, particularly regarding their livestock - how the geese were bought when they were only a day old and were kept in the study where they nestled into Karen’s neck for warmth and comfort and how Freddy the show-stock boar is a bit nervous, with poor eyesight and hearing nowadays, but how he is well looked after by the lady pigs when they meet up on occasion. (Incidentally, those sweet little baby geese are now the tyrants of the smallholding, a fact we were privy to firsthand. Karen tells us they used to bully the chickens and are now confined to the pig area where they steal pig pellets, dunking them in water to soften them up and eat).

 

 

It really is wonderful to hear Karen waxing lyrical about the smallholding, and their dedication to responsible, non-intensive farming is more than evident. While they may have a sheep called ‘Barbie’ who, being a girl, has a pink ear tag (obviously), they also consider traditional, natural and humane farming a very serious business. It is undoubtedly this philosophy that led to them being awarded the RSPCA Good Business Award. These awards recognise ethical businesses that place animal welfare central within their ethos. Produce from Sycamore Farm also bears the Freedom Foods mark, meaning animals involved have been reared, handled, transported and, ahem… processed to high standards devised and monitored by the RSPCA.

 

 

To experience modern, responsible farming and growing first hand (and to see the darling new piglets and lambs - born only a few weeks ago), the public are invited to regular open days at the smallholding. Karen and Jeff themselves can also be found in the Samphire shop (Karen is in most weekends and Jeff tends to be around during the week).

 

 

The next smallholding Open Day is on 22nd June. Check the Samphire website or contact Karen or Jeff for further details.

 

 

Samphire.

The Estate Barn, Blickling Hall, Near Aylsham,

Norfolk, NR11 6NF.

Tel: 01263 734464.

Samphire is open daily throughout the year 9.30am-5pm.