AT 9am the doors of Kiln Farm Shop will open for business, just as it has done for many years, in the lovely cobbled Victoria Street, on the third largest Channel Island of Alderney.
The Farm Shop is run by the Cox family, who also run the island’s only dairy farm at Kiln Farm, together with another small supermarket, Jean’s Stores, close to the island’s commercial harbour.
Both the Farm Shop and Jean’s Stores, an official Waitrose stockist, supply every day essentials, a wide range of fresh local produce, including their own Kiln Farm reared beef and dairy produce, fresh in season fish and island grown vegetables.
Their in-house cooks produce freshly made soups and pies, salads and coleslaws, along with fresh bread, hot pasties, muffins and other bakery delights.
The 2,000 inhabitants of Alderney have been enjoying fresh local produce from Kiln Farm Dairy since 1988, not just the creamy milk from the dairy, but also eggs, cheese, yoghurts and ice cream, but also the brightest yellow ‘real’ butter made from the Cox’s herd of Channel Island cows.
But after 20 years of hard work building up a thriving business on the island, Mike and Clare Cox have decided to retire and give up the lease on the whole business.
A new 20-year tenancy is being offered and unless a new tenant comes forward before the end of 2022 the doors of both the Farm Shop and Jean’s Stores will close for the very last time.
After the last cow has left the dairy’s busy milking parlour at Kiln Farm, the machinery and lights will be switched off, and for the first time in over 30 years the parlour will fall totally silent.
No more will there be beautiful Channel Island animals gently grazing the lush green grass in the farm’s undulating fields.
No more will there be the chattering birds and busy wildlife that rely on the presence of livestock to provide food to feed their chicks. No more will the people of Alderney be able to enjoy really fresh and safe home-produced dairy and meat. The dairy industry on Alderney will become extinct just like the Alderney cow.
But, with a ready-made market of 2,000 inhabitants, rising to around 5,000 with visitors in the summer months, it is a wonderful, and rare, opportunity for someone to take over and continue this thriving island business in some of the most beautiful surroundings in which to work and bring up a family.
With no crowds, queues, traffic lights, roundabouts or jams, the tranquil island of Alderney is often described as the ‘hidden gem of the Channel Islands’.
Alderney is a very friendly and safe community with an easy pace of life and, so incredibly rare in today’s world, an island where children can still roam perfectly safe and free. It’s an opportunity that may never come around again.
To let: a rare opportunity to tender for the total farm business and farm tenancy of the island’s only dairy farm supplying local dairy and beef products. Initial term: 20 years.
For particulars, please email mikeclarecox@suremail.gg or call 01481 824867.
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