Corton Plants /The Coo Shed

Corton Plants occupies South Corton Farm at Alloway, land the Kerr family has worked since James Kerr took the tenancy in 1925. The family opened the plant nursery in 2004, growing stock suited to Ayrshire conditions alongside bedding plants, trees, shrubs and garden sundries. The Coo Shed, the nursery's café, serves cooked breakfasts, soup, sandwiches and home baking in a converted farm building overlooking the growing beds, with last hot food orders taken at 4pm. A separate kiosk, the Milk Hoose, sells takeaway drinks and snacks, and 24-hour vending machines keep essentials on hand outside opening hours. The nursery's own-label preserves hold a Great Taste Award. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 4.30pm, closed Monday, on the working dairy farm the Kerr family still runs alongside it.