ARDARDAN

My friend Sara is one of those people who you meet and like instantly. She's lovely. She's so nice in fact that Carrie and I wait with baited breath for her to say something bad about someone, a moan, a groan, a sweary word - but they somehow never come. She's just an all round good egg.

She and her family run an estate in Cardross called Ardardan, which boasts a farm shop, a tea room and a garden centre as well as lovely grounds and animals such as highland cows, chickens and a bizarre breed of New Zealand pig which has fur - I know, it's weird but true. They have two which are named 'Ki' and 'Wi'. Marvellous.

Recently refurbished, the farm shop is thrise the shop it used to be. They have installed a huge cheese counter which bulges with Scottish and French cheeses, there's an olive bar where you can help yourself, organic fruit and vegetables and a vast array of biscuits, jams, pickles and teas as well as locally sourced fresh meat. The tearoom has fresh baking to die for and frankly the scone I had the last time I was there was the size of my head.

Everytime I visit I wonder why I don't go more often. Admittedly, when I lived in Glasgow it was slightly easier to get to - now it means a good hour in the car from Edinburgh but it's so worth it. Perhaps one of the nicest things about Ardardan is that it's an entirely family-run enterprise. Sara's Mum May, runs the shop, her Dad Grant and her fiance Jerry run the garden centre, Sara runs the tearoom and her sister Sue has recently joined the ranks as Marketeer. I don't think many of us could imagine working so closely with our families and yet the Montgomerys do it day in day out, and to brilliant effect. I continue to admire their efforts as their business grows and feel proud to tell people they're my friends.