Conundrum Farm
Conundrum Farm, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1UT
"We have been able to further diversify our farm business with the help of the Rural Enterprise Scheme. The addition of the Farm Shop and Café has widened the facilities we have to offer. They compliment the existing farm trail and trout fishery and we are now busy all the year round not just in the summer"
Nigel & Lynn Dudgeon, Conundrum Farm.
A 50% Rural Enterprise Scheme grant of nearly £25,000 was awarded to Nigel and Lynn Dudgeon of Conundrum Farm to help establish an on-farm café and farm shop.
Nigel and Lynn farm Conundrum's 200 hectares on an agricultural tenancy, the main enterprises being arable, suckler beef and sheep. Conundrum Farms claim to fame is that it is the first and last farm in England - the border wall that separates England and Scotland forms the northern boundary of the farm.
In 1998, the Dudgeon's used Objective 5b funding to open Conundrum Farm Trail and Fishery. The farm trail started out as an educational visitor centre for local schools, but quickly developed into an attraction enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. The only thing missing was somewhere for visitors to enjoy food and refreshments, so Nigel and Lynn decided to seek Rural Enterprise Scheme funding to help them develop the café and farm shop. The application took around a year to develop and, with guidance from Defra's Rural Development Service and some professional help, Nigel and Lynn were able to do much of the work themselves. The application was submitted in January 2002 and approved less than 2 months later.
The first six months, although involving a lot of hard work, have proved successful and the café and shop are proving popular with customers. Already, the café has received the North Northumberland local food award, reflecting the high quality of the home produced dishes on offer. The enterprise now has a workforce of 5 full-time employees.
The future plan is to build on the foundations that have been established by maintaining high quality standards and satisfied customers. Once established Nigel and Lynn would like to devote more of their time developing the business in new directions.
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Page last modified:
19 May, 2005
Page published: 10 December, 2002