New Family Friendly Farm opens

Date published: 07/06/2008

Gary Davis, 49, has lived at Scar End Farm in Weir for seven years, but has decided to bring the place back to life as a working farm with the addition of a shop selling fresh meat from his fields.

The farm has red deer which has had a calf, highland cattle, pigs and chickens freely running about - all accessible for families to come down and look at. 

Owner Gary said: "Instead of closing farms down we are bringing one back to life again. We are going for free range animals - mainly pigs.

"Our farm shop is great because it gives kids a great field to the mouth experience, so they can see where the food comes from that they eat.

"We want people to come along and enjoy seeing the animals. The kids will love it because they can chase the chickens around. Then people can come and buy the meat - it's all free range."

"The shop is now called Deerview farm shop because you can sometimes see the deer grazing from the shop."

The shop sells everything for barbecues including sausages and treacle drycured bacon, as well as mango chutney and jams made locally at Heritage Kitchen Range in Bacup.

Gary said it was important for him to think of the welfare of his animals.

"A happy pig is going to give better meat and it's going to have a better life for the time it is alive.

"Because it's local food we aren't putting in loads of miles which is also better for the environment.

"If people come here they can have the choice of choosing local produce and which is brilliant. If you go to the supermarket you're probably getting pork from somewhere like Poland!

George Hanley, a butcher at the shop, said: "It's an education as well as a day visit because we can teach kids where the meat comes from."

The shop is open from 9am- 5pm from Mon - Saturday and 10am - 4pm on Sunday.