A MINIATURE railway is the latest addition to an award-winning farm shop and café which has evolved from a pick-your-own soft fruit site to an attractive eco-friendly cedar-clad building.
Cedarbarn, whose growing popularity is partly due to its stunning setting near Pickering, is in the running for the Retail, Tourism and Leisure and Family Business titles at The Press Business Awards.
“From the comfort of the café, through the large windows which surround it, visitors can gaze at a spectacular rural panorama of fruit trees, rows of soft fruit and the railway running through.
“The area has been beautifully landscaped and incorporates an area of table- top strawberries alongside the outside dining area and herb garden,” its entry says.
At the recent grand opening of the Cedarbarn Miniature Railway, families, local business people and the mayor of Pickering took a trip on the new 600-metre track.
Passengers on The Flying Yorkshireman travel around the farm through vegetable patches, and apple orchard, asparagus beds and soft fruit fields. In season, passengers are able to alight from the carriages to enjoy a spot of fruit picking.
“We believe that it is important for children get the chance to see where their food comes from, the idea of the railway was to bring our home-grown produce to life and show this connection from ‘field to fork’ in a fun way and also to encourage an interest in fruit picking.”
Run by the Avisons, a local farming family, Cedarbarn says that primarily it is its strong identity as a genuine farm shop which drives the business.
Karl and Mandy Avison run the business and their 22-year-old daughter Chloe manages the farm shop, while other family members have also worked or helped out at the enterprise.