Warehorne in the spotlight: Benjamin Dent, chairman KFMA
Kent Farmers’ Market of the month
Warehorne in the spotlight: Benjamin Dent, chairman KFMA
Farmers’ Market, which has just celebrated its third birthday, was originally founded to help raise money for the village hall, which at the time was in dire need of repair. The committee of volunteers wanted the local community to have a place to meet, while also bringing them the finest local food.
In three years the village has acquired a beautifully refurbished village hall and market as a focal point, run by a team of volunteers who work in the kitchen selling refreshments that include bacon, sausage and egg sandwiches and donated home-made cakes.
One regular stallholder is Maria Bugden from Cuckoo’s Pit Farm, who appears at each market with her mother Ada Benn to run the stall. Maria’s husband Keith and teenage sons George and Charlie are all involved in running the 250-acre organic livestock farm in Woodchurch, just four miles from Warehorne.
Founded in 1999, the business started as a hobby on a 20-acre smallholding with a few pigs and cows and a dozen sheep. Today, the farm has 450 sheep and lambs and 25 beef cattle and calves, plus five rare breed sows including Gloucester Old Spots and Berkshires. The piglets forage freely in a 10-acre oak bluebell wood while calves stay with their mothers until they are naturally weaned.
The herds consist of White Park cattle, the oldest breed of cattle in the UK, and Blonde d’Aquitaine, a large, continental breed, developed to produce the finest quality beef. All the beef is hung for 28 days to allow a full flavour to develop and to ensure maximum tenderness.
The sheep include the traditional breeds of Welsh Lleyn, Southdown and Wiltshire Horn and all are well known for producing excellent lamb. Animal care is at the forefront of everything Cuckoo Pit’s Farm does and the sheep live their whole lives outside in the pasture.
FIND US
Warehorne Farmers Market is held on the fourth Sunday of every month from 10am-12pm. Sat nav: TN26 2LH
Cuckoo Pit Farm has its own farm shop too, which sells meat, eggs and honey exclusively produced on the farm. The shop is off the Tenterden/Woodchurch B2067. Sat nav: TN26 3TF
