Hartley Farm

Winsley, Bradford on Avon

01225 864948

l Open 9am-5.30pm

Up the leafy lane, past the allotment holders tending their plots, Hartley Farm truly is a rural idyll.

The farm has been run by the Bowles family for five generations but the cafe and shop is a more recent addition.

We managed to find a window seat in the light and airy extension – all pale wood and floor to ceiling glass.

It's always busy, popular with young mums and retirees, enjoying the all-day breakfasts and the range of sandwiches and focaccias.

There's always a selection of specials on the blackboard. I was tempted by the roast tomato and chickpea soup and also very much liked the sound of the Boston beans with ham hock and poached egg on sourdough, but all the fresh air was making me feel virtuous so mum and me both plumped for the in-season asparagus salad, with Rosary goats cheese (made in Salisbury), spinach, orange and pine nuts.

It was a decision we didn't regret. The creamy goats cheese was the perfect partner for the sweet orange segments and the pine nuts added a satisfactory crunch. My mum was especially pleased at the absence of 'stringy lettuce leaves'. (It's a teeth thing.)

I'm reliably informed that Hartley Farm does very good coffee but we wanted something cold so chose two bottles of refreshing elderflower bubbly and finished with a wedge of carrot cake, deliciously moist with a lovely citrus topping.

Lunch for two came to £22.30, not cheap but definitely worth the money.