Cream o’ Galloway visitor centre is to close permanently later this month. A statement was announced on the company’s social media channels following a meeting with staff this morning.
In the statement, Wilma and David Finlay, owners of Cream o’ Galloway, said:
We have made the very difficult decision to close Cream o’ Galloway visitor centre. Our final day will be Sunday 17th September 2023. Cream o’ Galloway ice cream will continue to be made on the farm; however, this will be under new ownership once a sale of the business concludes.
Cream o’ Galloway was launched almost 30 years ago. Over that time, it has given us much happiness – as well as a healthy dose of frustration every now and again!
We have welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to the farm over that time and had the privilege of watching children who played in our original straw barn grow up and bring their own families to Cream o’ Galloway to make memories.
One thing that has been constant over all those years is the warmth and the professionalism of our amazing team. Thank you to each and every person who has worked with us over the years; from students working for a single summer season to those friends who have been with us from the very beginning.
Over the next few days, we will be in touch with all customers who have event bookings after 17th September, or who have gift vouchers, to make appropriate arrangements. We will also be contacting all ice cream trade customers with a full update.
We will be very sad to close the doors of Cream o’ Galloway, but time catches up with all of us. The visitor centre buildings will be made available to lease in due course, and we look forward to seeing new businesses in new formats thrive on the farm in the future.
Cream o’ Galloway, near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway has been one of Galloway’s most popular visitor attractions for the last 20 years. Launched in 1994, the luxury ice cream is made with milk from the Finlay’s dairy farm. A small play area was introduced to the site in 1995 and the visitor centre opened in 2000. The hand-built woodland playground closed at the end of 2020 as a result of Covid and soaring insurance premiums.
A sale of the Cream o’ Galloway ice cream brand is in progress which, it is anticipated, will see ice cream manufacturing continue uninterrupted on the site. Sister company Finlay’s Farm Ltd, known as The Ethical Dairy, which produces artisan cheese will continue.
Of the 13 members of staff currently employed at Cream o’ Galloway, six are expected to be offered positions by the new owners of Cream o’ Galloway ice cream, while two are expected to be employed by The Ethical Dairy. Five members of staff are expected to be made redundant.
