Lych gate, St Mary's Church, Purton, near to Purton, Wiltshire, Great Britain.
Many churches have a lych gate built over the main entrance to the enclosed area round the church. The name, also spelt lich or lytch, is from the Anglo Saxon 'lich' meaning corpse. The gate marks the division between consecrated and unconsecrated ground, where the bearers sheltered with the coffin, waiting for the clergyman to lead the procession before the burial. The original lych gates had seats, a lych cross and a lych stone - a slab on which the coffin rested.

Farm ShopEat & Drink

Purton Farm Shop

📷 Photo by Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

If you're travelling through the northern Cotswolds or passing through Wiltshire near Swindon, this working farm shop makes an excellent stop for anyone who appreciates good food and supporting local producers.

The shop stocks a genuine range of fresh, ethically sourced goods from the farm and nearby suppliers. You'll find a proper butchery counter with quality meats, a deli stocked with cheeses and charcuterie alongside homemade treats, and seasonal fruit and vegetables that change with what's growing. It's the kind of place where you can see what the land around here actually produces rather than just reading about it.

The on-site café adds real value to a visit. You can grab a coffee, order a light lunch, or pick up one of their homemade cakes. It transforms the whole experience from a quick shopping trip into a proper break where you can sit down and actually enjoy something.

The location works well whether you're based nearby in Lydiard Millicent or Purton, or using it as a waypoint before heading deeper into the region towards Cirencester or Malmesbury. It's genuinely the kind of place where locals come for their weekly shopping and visitors discover what the countryside around here is really about.