Regional Director Liz Mort is delighted to declare her Best Rural Retailers, commenting: “First of all, it was enormously difficult to choose a winner in any of the categories – really all of our regional shortlist were winners in their own right. But we had to choose overall winners and the four we chose are quite exceptional.”

Best Local Food Retailer
Willow Brook Farm Shop
Scotsmans's Lodge
Stamford Road
Helpston Heath,
Peterborough
Cambridgeshire
PE6 7EL
www.willowbrookfarm.co.uk
01780 740261

Liz says: “Willow Brook is a first class butchers’ shop and more! It has grown from the owners taking a stall in Farmers’ Markets six years’ ago to this thriving business now open seven days a week. The base of the business is high quality home reared beef and lamb, but they also stock local venison and pork, including rare breed Gloucester Old Spot, all butchered on the premises, local seasonal game, home cured hams, all types of poultry, home made hand-raised pork pies and meat pies made in their kitchens, plus a wide variety of locally produced cheeses, fruit juices, jams, honey and other items,  Owner Mrs Morton has been led by her customers in many ways, for example when her regulars asked for vegetables she responded by sourcing a supply of locally grown seasonal vegetables!”

Best Village Shop / PO
Rattlesden Community Stores and Post Office
High Street
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP30 0RL
01449 736332

Liz says: “We loved the ‘Community’ aspect of this shop – it is non-profit-making, run by a large team of volunteers who aim to supply whatever their customers want and need! They stock local, freshly baked bread and cakes and local cream, bacon and ham as well as all the staple items the villagers might need to avoid their having to travel to the town. The volunteers also keep an eye out to make sure the elderly occupants of the nearby sheltered housing development are well. The Post Office is open five half days a week and all the staff go out of their way to be helpful. This shop really does give a much needed service to the community.”

Best Diversification
Deepdale Farm
Burnham Deepdale
Norfolk
PE31 8DD
www.deepdalefarm.co.uk
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01485 210 256

Liz says: "This thriving business was built up on the belief that, although Norfolk has always been popular with walkers and bird watchers, no-one catered for the back-pack market! The current owner’s father started off by providing a camping area – now in addition they boast two affordable hostels and in total cater for some 20,000 ‘bed-nights’ a year as well as still running a working farm - round which they have two well-mapped 'conservation walks'. They very much work with the local community, including running the village website – and have developed the site to include a supermarket, café and other shops that are used by locals as much as the visitors, and provide much needed jobs for local people."

Best Traditional Business
Cold Hanworth Forge
Cold Hanworth
Lincolnshire
LN2 3RE
01673 866700
http://www.teachblacksmithing.com/

Liz says: "Described by our visiting panel as ‘the new meeting the old’ this blacksmith business undertakes a great deal of restoration work, church work, conservation and community projects, as well as having built up a reputation for inspiring artwork and sculptures. What impressed us enormously was the fact that Bob Oakes and his team run professional and vocational courses at all levels throughout the year and are thus ensuring that this traditional business will not die out."