The Farm Shop Guide is the second high-calibre guidebook to be published by Printslinger in 2024. It joins The Coastal Café Guide – a summer bestseller – to create a pair of foodie guides dubbed 'Surf’n’Turf' by the publisher.
The Farm Shop Guide (the ‘turf’) launched this week on Amazon and was a #1 Hot New Release, while The Coastal Café Guide (the ‘surf’) hit shelves in July as a #1 Hot New Release and a #1 Beach Holiday Bestseller. This striking duo joins Printslinger’s flagship title, The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services (the tarmac!), to create an invaluable trio of guidebooks for foodies and those who like to support local food businesses while exploring England, Scotland, and Wales.
Printslinger’s Kerry O’Neill, said, “People seem keener than ever to avoid the services and soulless, big-brand food chains. Our books help them seek out and celebrate smaller, local cafés and food businesses. Our two new Surf’n’Turf titles help people discover authentic farm shops and seasonal coastal cafés they might otherwise have missed, and The Extra Mile already helps turn their car journeys into culinary adventures by helping them avoid the dreaded services.”
The Farm Shop Guide: highlights (Oct 2024)
165 farm shops and their cafés and restaurants
Seasonal farm events including Easter, Halloween, and Christmas activities
Info on pick-your-own (PYO) crops, food festivals, and farmers markets
Icons to help trip-planners, i.e. dog-friendly, family-friendly, EV-charging, parking
Eight geographic sections, with separate chapters on Scotland and Wales
254pp with nine striking full-colour maps
15 food-related charities featured, including Nature Friendly Farming, Pasture for Life, and the Sustainable Food Trust (who receive a donation per book)
The Coastal Café Guide: highlights (July 2024)
150 coastal cafés, restaurants, beach bars, seafood cabins, and pubs, on or near the coast
Symbols for dog-friendly and family-friendly places to eat, often with a sea view
256pp with 10 striking regional maps
Low food miles, local food places to help you support Britain’s food businesses
Places in England, Scotland, and Wales (inc. Isles of Scilly, Wight, Man, and Skye)
Features on coast-relevant charities including the RNLI, the Marine Conservation Society, and Surfers Against Sewage (who receive a donation per book)
The Exrtra Mile Guide: highlights (2023)
275 cafés and alternative food and drink stop-offs near motorway junctions
Symbols for dog-friendly and family-friendly places to eat, rest, walk and play
11 motorway-based maps and six broader, regional maps
UK map of pit stops with EV chargers
Independent cafés, restaurants, pubs and bakeries
Local food at farm shops and farm shop cafés
384 full-colour pages: search by place name, region or motorway
Praise for the books
Guy Singh-Watson, veg box pioneer and founder of Riverford Organic, said, “Proper farm shops – ones that actually grow, rear, or make most of their own produce with love, attention to detail, and a genuine connection to the land – are a beautiful thing. [The Farm Shop Guide] will help you find them.”
Jane Gray is Director of Broom House Farm, Durham, whose shop features in The Farm Shop Guide. Jane said, “So many farm shops like ours are slightly off the beaten track, with holidaymakers stumbling across us just as they're going home. This guide will be such a help.”
Lucy Kerr is from Kishorn Seafood Bar in Scotland, a restaurant featured in The Coastal Café Guide. Lucy said, “A guide featuring the distinct local flavours and colourful characters from around the whole coast makes for a visual feast and a fascinating read. It’s also a great gift for coast-path walkers, day-trippers and motorists, as well as those who simply love the sea.”
Series edited by Alastair Sawday
Printslinger is owned by travel publisher, Alastair Sawday, an environmental activist and longstanding campaigner for local food, low food miles, and sustainable travel. Alastair said, “Buying and using our books is a great way to find and support Britain’s small food producers, farms shops, cafés, and restaurants (and my goodness, we need our farms and farmers).”
How to buy Printslinger books
2024’s new books, The Farm Shop Guide and The Coastal Café Guide, join The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services, as part of Printslinger’s growing list of titles. Visit the online shop to buy direct. Find Printslinger books in High Street and independent bookshops, and on Amazon and other online outlets.