The old smiddy at Blair Drummond, near Thornhill, on the outskirts of Stirling, has had quite a dramatic makeover and is now in its first year as a farm shop and café, named Blair Drummond Smiddy.

The building was a sorry sight for many years, but it was reopened in October last year under the guidance of a team that found themselves on a pretty steep learning curve, which they are still riding.

Daisy Peach is the manager of the Smiddy, and along with her uncle, Jamie Muir, who owns the building, as well as Blair Drummond Safari Park, they have breathed life into both the Smiddy and the local community by providing an essential amenity.

The Smiddy provides the locals with a farm shop stocking local produce, an excellent butchery, which is already award winning, and a café that offers an impressive menu, and doesn’t compromise on quality. They also have an in-house baker tempting customers with fantastic cakes and breads.

Stocking a shop and a café from scratch is a huge task, and Daisy and the assistant manager Linda Hackett have worked hard on selecting the right products, both local, and if what they want isn’t available locally, then they go for quality.

The shop offers an excellent range of non-food products, quality homeware items and gifts, which surprisingly, sell as well as the food side of things, it’s an interesting idea that farm shops are attracting customers not for their food, but for the experience and the offer of ‘treats’ as Daisy calls them.

Customers like to buy themselves something they wouldn’t normally pick up at the supermarket. It’s a special occasion to make the effort to go to these upmarket farm shops that offer more than the basic food items.

I catch the eye of a couple browsing the shop. Where are they headed?

“We are on our way to Perth to see our daughter from our home in Bearsden, we come in here as the coffee and cakes are lovely, it’s a nice stop along the way,” says the lady, waving a wooden spoon that she has just bought (she tells me she certainly didn’t come in for a wooden spoon, but she was taken by the shop and thought she would treat herself).

The original building and the old Dutch barn that was attached have been converted while keeping in mind its agricultural roots, they have retained the feel of a large barn with beams, whitewash walls and lots of windows. It’s a delightful building to wander around.

“Good toilets!” Daisy says that is one of the things that they found customers really insisted on are good toilets. I can confirm the toilets are excellent.

The restaurant is a bright, spacious affair with tremendous views across to the Thornhill and the Fintry hills. It’s big. The café seats 111, which is deceptive. At a guess, it looks like it would hold 60, but it is laid out so well with lots of space between each table that it doesn’t look crowded. There is also outside seating for those who want to enjoy the weather or have brought a dog with them.

Daisy adds: “We make everything to order using products from our butchery and local Scottish suppliers, a genuine taste of good country grub. Our menu is seasonal and will change as we develop.”

Everything is cooked from fresh, this isn’t a fast food joint, expect to wait a little longer and it will be worth it. The team have decided that they won’t compromise on the quality of the food, in order to get it on the table faster.

They are open for breakfast and the current favourite item on the breakfast menu is the smashed avocado and bacon on sourdough, sounds delish.

The steak pie is a familiar favourite for customers later in the day (they are also sold in the shop). The shop and the restaurant do lots of cross selling, using the products from the shop in the restaurant, so that customers have the option to try before they buy, of sorts.

The location of the Smiddy is blessed, with lots of through traffic on their way to Oban, it’s a perfect stop off. They also get lots of custom from people visiting the Trossachs, and from the families staying at the caravan site at Blairdrummond or those at Briarlands play centre.

They wanted the shop to be welcoming and to provide an alternative to the supermarkets in Stirling. There is no doubt the jewel in the crown of this enterprise is the butcher’s shop.

With a couple of awards already in hand, the display under the glass is something to admire. It does bring lots of locals to the shop specifically for the selection of cuts available.

Their Stornoway pepper parcels and chilli cheese meatballs did well in recent taste awards. Their own cured bacon, pies, sausages and burgers are best sellers.

The shop itself has a full range of deli items, and the usual craft beers, wines etc.

There is a huge range of items on offer, with lots of local meat products on offer. The beef comes from Brian Duff at Doune, the pork is from Aberfeldy, their eggs come from Old Leckie Farm.

It’s been a baptism of fire for the team, and they are delighted to see that they now have a steady stream of regulars who are local to the Smiddy, they are doing their best to be part of the community, with lots of local information boards in sight. They employ more than 30 locals, in a rural area, that is a wonderful asset to youngsters trying to pick up employment without moving away.

They have found that their afternoon tea offer is taking off (you have to book), these are things that they are willing to sample to see what their customers want. It’s early days, and the team at the Smiddy are ready to tweak whatever is needed in order to continue this first year’s success story.

www.blairdrummond smiddy.co.uk