Church View Farm shop on Southport Road in Lydiate has been serving customers for more than 40 years, with Edith Pope, 79, at its helm. The traditional family-run farm shop, around a 50-minute drive from Liverpool city centre, is known for its autumn pumpkin picking and a full range of fresh produce.
From piggery to popular farm shop
Edith and her late husband, Robert, known as Bobby, bought the farm in 1985 and transformed the former piggery building into the shop, which opened just before Christmas that year. Edith, originally from Wavertree and a former Lydiate parish councillor, grew up in farming and continues to run the farm seven days a week.
She told the ECHO: "My dad went into farming when I was about 11 and he worked for a beetroot farmer in Lunt Village. When I was 13, I'd pick beetroot and we all worked. There were 13 children and dad, so it was a big family."
Edith added: "I married in 1966 and moved out to Lydiate and when we moved out here, a man had a railway carriage in the field next door selling rhubarb and potatoes. When he took ill, he asked me would I look after it for him. I did and then he didn't want it so he charged me some rent and I went into doing eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, rhubarb - all local grown produce. I stayed there for quite a few years and then we bought the farm."
Local produce and customer favourites
The shop sells fruit, eggs, raw honey, herbs, jam, bacon, sausages, black and white pudding, sauce mixes, dairy, juices, biscuits and an extensive selection of vegetables. Edith said: "Customers' favourites are mainly the potatoes, eggs and vegetables. All the others are extra but they're the staples people buy consistently. Any time now people will also start buying our pickling onions so they can start making their pickles for Christmas."
Edith said the farm grows much of its produce and sources the rest from local farmers: "We've got the field where we grow quite a bit of produce and then what we don't grow, we take off the local farmers [for the shop], so you keep them farmers farming."
Pumpkin picking and Christmas plans
Pumpkin picking opens to the public on the first weekend in October, and the farm is preparing for that busy period. Edith said: "Pumpkin picking and Christmas are the most popular times at the farm shop. We've got the pumpkins and then it's Christmas where people will want their nice fresh veg, sprouts, eggs and potatoes."
Despite running the shop for more than four decades, Edith has no plans to step back soon. She said: "I like the job and I love seeing the customers. They stay with you throughout the years even in the bad times and they'll still show up to support. Maybe one day I'll retire because I'm 80 next year but I know I'd miss it. I'm the type of person who has to keep on the go and I think once you start sitting around that's when you drop dead."
The farm shop is open from 9am until 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am until 5pm on Sundays. Pumpkin picking runs throughout October, and a lamb farmer is on site on the second Sunday of every month.
