Mudchute City Farm, London – Biggest urban farm in Europe

Photo by LunaModule

Just 10 minutes from Canary Wharf (London’s second financial district and home of the UK’s three tallest buildings) on the Isle of Dogs, is a wonderful city farm – Mudchute Farm. On 32 acres of fertile land (nutrient-rich as it is just next to the Thames) live 200 animals, mostly rare breeds. Mudchute Farm is also home to 70 community allotments, a farm kitchen and restaurant, horse stables, and smokehouse. Wood from the farm is used in the smokehouse where butter, geese, and cheese are often smoked.

Mudchute City Farm signage by Caroline Ford. Larger image here.

Mudchute Kitchen at Mudchute City Farm

from This is Dorset
October 23, 2009

Excerpt:

The day we went it was raining cats on the Isle of Dogs, but Mudchute Kitchen was buzzing with damp and excited children, appetising smells from the kitchen and scrumptious cakes at the counter.

Philippa was getting to the end of a frantic Sunday lunch service, but eager to show of her latest acquisition – an outdoor wood-fired oven built by Mudchute volunteers led by the local vicar “a man who can find a solution to any practical problem,” she says.

A short walk through the stable block brought us to the Kitchen’s garden, rows of well tended herbs and vegetables in rich soil, and at the end “the smokehouse” – a tiny structure that she based on the Moro model, quite sufficient to smoke things for the Mudchute menu.

Allotment holders at Mudchute (and these are what allotments should be – community spaces with quirky personal items that include a memorial to gardeners past) are not allowed to sell their produce, but they can swap or barter.

That means Philippa and her staff and customers can take advantage of seasonal fruit and vegetables that clock up about a tenth of a food mile.

And the gardeners can swap their greens for Mudchute Kitchen food vouchers.

The atmosphere in the organically ramshackle restaurant is like a traditional eatery in Italy or Greece. The walls are lined with an eclectic selection of books. The seating ranges from re-used armchairs and sofas to tables and brightly painted high-chairs. There are toys for all ages and a rocking horse that’s in constant demand.

The Mudchute association works to maintain this 32-acre green space on the Isle of Dogs, and you can walk from the cafe through the farm, the largest of London’s city farms, and over Mudchute Park towards the three London Light Railway stations and the towering monoliths of Canary Wharf.

The complete article here.

See Mudchute City Farm web site here.

See Mudchute from the air here.

Chinese Community Grow Traditional Vegetables On Mudchute Allotments

Photos here.