The Dourie Farming Diaries

I had time before I went to the NFU Scotland Milk Committee meeting, and I had about an hour to spare. I don't like to waste an hour so I thought I would find something to do and so I went to see Craigie's Farm Shop.

I know John Sinclair, the owner and founder of it. He's a very innovative guy and I've always meant to go and see it.  It's near the airport near the Rural Centre, which is where the Highland Show takes place and, my goodness, was I not blown away?!

What can only be described as an awesome farm shop perhaps one of the best I have been to. It's an amazing situation looking right down the Forth Estuary, sitting up above Edinburgh, looking from east to west.  John is a tenant farmer on Rosebery Estates and he has grown this diversified business into his main business.  He's got pick your own fruit, he's got a wonderful farm shop which really is stocked with the best of Scottish and British food. I've never seen one that had nearly solely British food, even down to the alcohol. So only English wine, Scottish gin and the meat, the dairy, everything was such a good advertisement for Scottish produce. John is also doing some amazing work with schoolchildren and the Royal Highland Education Trust which is a superb charity that works to teach children about food, farming and the countryside.  He's built a barn, basically a kiddies barn, with what they call a hard play area not a soft play area but basically it's a place where kids can come and play in a safe environment, but also then go and see farm animals and touch them, learn about them. It’s education mixed with play and it all works very well indeed. John has 300,000 customers a year coming through he has a mega offering which I would recommend to  anybody that is in that vicinity and has spare time before they go to the airport or a meeting in Edinburgh. Craigie's Farm Shop is a destination in its own right!