Mootop Dairy Bolton opens new farm shop in Wingates

The unassuming new venture, run by a family‑owned farm in Westhoughton, quietly opened over the weekend and has already drawn crowds keen to sample fresh milk and milkshakes made metres away from the cows themselves.

Louise Fitton opened Mootop Dairy’s self-serve milk machine for the first time in a ‘soft opening’ on Sunday, May 3, and already people in the local area have been flocking to the farm to try it out for themselves.

The mum-of-two said the idea for the machine came from her children and realising she had the perfect location for it, accessible by public footpath, the 45-year-old embarked on getting all of the equipment sorted.

Customers turn up at Moss Hall Farm, just off of Wingates Lane, to find an unsuspecting red shipping container in the corner of a car park, next to a barn full of cows.

Inside the unsuspecting shipping container you can serve yourself a milkshake (Image: Ruby Watson)

Inside the container, named Mootop Milkshake, is the self-serve milk machine, and visitors can choose from milk or a milkshake.

Plain milk is available, but there is also the option to flavour milk or milkshakes.

Customers can choose classic chocolate, banana or strawberry, or there are even some special flavours of the week too.

For the week of the soft opening, these were salted caramel, blue bubble gum or vanilla.

A small bottle is priced at £1.50 and a large at £2.50, the plain milks cost £1 for a small milk and £1.50 for a large milk.

The small milkshakes are priced at £1.50 (Image: Ruby Watson)

The flavoured milk and milkshakes are each served in a glass bottle, and Louise said she hopes that this will deter people from using plastic, as they can come to have this refilled time and time again, even with plain milk.

Louise said: “We opened this to try and be sustainable, keep farms going really. We need to keep the farms going.

“If we don’t keep the farms going, we lose the green space. It’s a good thing.

“We already have a milk round. So we can do this alongside the milk round anyway.

“It’s been really good. Really busy yesterday.

Chloe Fitton, 16, with her mum Louise Fitton, 45 (Image: Ruby Watson)

“It’s really nice knowing that all the hard work and all the preparations gone into something and and people like it.

“People like the design and they and they like the process and they like the fact that they can sit and watch the cows while they’re having the milkshakes.”

Once the drink has been mixed up, there are seating areas outside where the cows can be seen from the barn.

Louise said the family have always had the cows but only began milking them in October last year.

You can watch the cows as you enjoy your milkshake (Image: Ruby Watson)

She said: “We sell raw milk as well, which is basically directly from them.

“Our cows get milked, the milk gets pasteurised, and it goes into the machine. That milk is directly from them.

“So they milked yesterday, so that milk is fresh from yesterday. So it comes straight from the cow to this.”

Eggs from the farm are also available to purchase, for £3.50 a dozen.

She said she hopes to have a nice opening event towards the end of the month, where visitors can also meet the cows.

Once open officially, customers will be able to come to grab milk from 6am until 10pm most days. For more details visit Mootop Diary facebook page.