Milk Maids: We tried an award-winning ice cream shop in Bolton – including ingenious cream tea flavour

There is nothing better than an ice cream on a hot summer’s day. It’s a treat that the whole family can agree on, young and old. And while we all love the classic 99 flake, sometimes it’s nice to push the boat out a bit. If that’s the case, then Milk Maids might be what you’re looking for.

Milk Maids is a small, family-run ice cream and farm shop located in Over Hulton, Bolton. All the ice cream is made from scratch in-house using Ayrshire cows milk fresh from the adjoining Dearden Farm, the first farm in Bolton to sell raw milk. If you’re not used to the countryside, the smell of the dairy farm may come as a bit of a surprise, but for us it’s a sure fire way of knowing that you’re about to get a quality product straight from the source.

It is only a small premises, with limited seating inside, but several picnic benches outside – and luckily for us during this heatwave, in the shade. When we visited on a Monday afternoon, there was already a queue outside the door and all the tables were occupied. This is not surprising as the ice cream shop has won several awards over the years, including two consecutive wins at the Great Yorkshire Show for its strawberry flavour and salted caramel.

We did not have to wait long as the shop’s simple formula means everyone is served quickly. Ice cream is the main event at this shop, so all you need to do is choose your flavour (make that flavours, plural) and how you want to eat it. There are tubs of various sizes, as well as waffle cones: large, small, plain, with chocolate or dipped in red or blue sherbert. You can also opt to have yours with waffles or made into a milkshake. You can also select a melted chocolate to drizzle over the top.

There is also a good selection of both classic and more unique flavours, which change every day. They post the flavours on offer each on their Instagram page, which is useful if you want to plan ahead. There are also soya dairy-free options and sorbets available.

We decided to go for two scoops each – one with Amarena cherry and Cream Tea, the other had Kinder Bueno and the double strawberry flavour – and they did not disappoint. The texture is smooth and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness. The two fruity flavours we tried had bits of real fruit mixed throughout, and the double strawberry also had a gorgeous vibrant colour.

Kinder Bueno is the perfect accompaniment to ice cream, it has a crunch texture and nutty flavour that works really well when swirled within the signature Milk Maids ice cream. The real revelation of the day, though, was the cream tea flavour. It’s a flavour I have never come across before in all my years of ice cream eating but it’s such a genius idea. Strawberry jam and clotted cream ice cream is just as delicious as you’d imagine it to be.

Even if ice cream is not your thing, they also sell fresh produce, including milk, eggs, jams, chutneys and sausage and bacon from the butcher. And if you haven’t had enough ice cream for one day, you can also buy tubs of it to take home.

• You can find Milk Maids at Deardens Farm, 908 Manchester Rd, Over Hulton, Bolton, BL5 1AT.