Date: 26th March 2014
The Friendly Farmer has become a favorite stop of mine, having stopped there largely on a whim some years ago. It's an interesting establishment which I really feel is an undiscovered gem - part farm shop, part services, it's handily placed at the junction of the A1, A17 and A46, an ideal place to stop for refreshment.
Run by the local farming community, the meat is all locally organically produced, with a fair profit going to the farmers who grow it. There is a farm shop and a butcher's counter selling food as well as a restaurant section. The "Farmer's Wife" breakfast set me back around seven pounds and came with two rashers of bacon, a delicious sausage, egg, beans, grilled tomato and a hash brown. Also included were a cup of coffee and a slice of toast with marmalade. A larger breakfast was available along with sausage / bacon rolls.
To be blunt, I think these were quite probably the best sausages I've ever eaten - hearty and with a good seasoning of herbs. Plus they were well cooked, hot and crispy. Before I left I bought a coupe of pounds to take home from the butcher (of which more later). The bacon was thick and well cooked and the coffee was strong and hot. Downsides? Perhaps the toast could have been hotter, but that's a minor niggle. The importance of the ethics of food production vary hugely from person-to-person, but I am certainly drawn to the fact that the meat is well-treated and the farmers receive a fairer price for their work, it's a business model I'd like to see more widely in the UK, currently the only equivalent stop I'm aware of is Tebay services on the M6.
Before leaving I bought some sausages to take home, and also some food for the road. A scotch egg the size of a baby's head and a delicious pork and cranberry pie kept me going on my drive to Scotland and each were less than a tired pasty from a filling station.
Bare in mind that the full lunch menu is only served 12-3pm and the whole place closes at 5pm, so it's not a 24 hour convenience stop, but overall I wholeheartedly recommend a visit!
Overall: Excellent breakfast, and offering a far superior option to other service stations. Price would be a little high for the high street, but seems far better value than the equivalent roadside options. Great breakfast gives them the highest score so far! 9.75/10
