The Student Friendly Checklist- Is Newton Farm Café Suitable for a Study Sesh?

Written by Charlotte Beattie

Me sipping a mocha at Newton Farm Cafe, Bath [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

In the heart of Newton St. Loe, a quaint little village full of little houses sure to please anyone that strives for the cottagecore aesthetic, sits Newton Farm shop/ café. Now I’m a sucker for a cute café to study in but there are quite a few things we need to take into consideration, especially as a student of course.

As a student at Bath Spa University- Newton Farm café is IDEAL for a much cuter study location rather than competing over a pod in Commons. Just a short 15 min walk from Newton Park campus- you enter a completely different atmosphere in Newton St. Loe. I brought my Media Communication study buddies along with me and we had a very pleasant stroll along the country road; through the farm fields and I reminisced of summer holiday road trips the number of times we looked aside each other and shouted - COWS! Now if you make it to the village (watch out for the cattle grids unless you want a good excuse to get out of studying!) you will begin to feel all your university stress exit your body. Surrounding you are a variety of small cottages reminiscent of Kate Winslet’s cottage in The Holiday. Following along the cobbled streets you will then come across the large sign for Newton Farm café or the largest pumpkins you’ll ever see may catch your eye first if you visit in October.

Newton Farm Pumpkin Patch, Bath- October 2025 [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

Upon entering- we come across our first hurdle to completing the university work that we came here to do. Ahead of you, in the distance, your eyes catch the most adorable little piglets awaiting your company with the intentions to distract you from your hard work and remind you that you don’t actually really want to buy a sausage roll as much as you thought you did.

Piglets at Newton Farm, Bath [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

After spending your precious study time with the little piggies- you will finally make it into the café, laptop in hand and ready to go. With sooo many seats to choose from (unusual when the biggest struggle of a café study sesh is being able to actually sit down) and a long list of sweet or caffeinated drinks to choose from- you will instantly feel motivated and ready to begin work. The only concern now is how overpriced will my mocha be in this fancy café that is also serving a homemade granola sunday for £6.95. The emphasis on homemade strongly makes me think I’m in the completely wrong price bracket to even be stepping foot into this café.

Despite my very regretful decision to live in one of the most expensive student cities- our most important bullet point on the student-friendly checklist will always be cost. To my delight- the mocha was only a whopping £4.50. But in comparison to my usual iced mocha from commons café at a price of £4.60- this number brightened my day and made me even more prepared to finish my mocha in the first 10 minutes of studying before I have even been able to complete one google search….. and then buy another. Once again, these are the prices I’ve destined myself for by living in the South of England and by choosing Bath as my new home.

My mocha at Newton Farm Cafe, Bath [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

This all sounds like a rather successful study sesh however, you will soon approach the biggest hurdle yet. You lock in, are bashing at the keyboard feeling like the most productive version of you and then your laptop display begins to fade. Your power button begins to flash and your heart begins to sink- your laptop is about to take its final breath. But where are the plug sockets?! To your dismay- there is none accessible to your table; you pack up and call it a day whilst disappointingly heading to the exit.

Oh, but what’s that by the exit? They’re selling a cute teddy dressed as a sheep?! Autumnal room décor for your university room?! A little wooden pumpkin that I definitely need to take home and watch gather dust in the corner of my desk I never use to do work?! And there goes another knock to my bank account but I leave a little happier and satisfied after being able to tick visiting a farm shop off my university in Bath bucket list.

Fresh strawberries from the Newton Farm Shop, Bath [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

Newton Farm Cafe, Bath [Photo credits to Charlotte Beattie]

I can’t lie- Newton Farm café was adorable- mainly the pigs and cottages outside the actual café but the warm, fuzzy feeling I got from sipping a hot mocha in Autumn surrounded by farm animals was enough to make me enjoy myself despite the costly outing and the unfortunate death of my laptop. Oh well, I wasn’t that motivated anyways- just an excuse to enjoy the scenery and soak in the only time I’m going to be spending my student money in a farm café/ shop. I would recommend Newton Farm shop as a one-off change of location for your study sesh but be prepared with a fully charged laptop and mental restraint from buying cute things you do not need from the shop. Maybe this café is more suitable to suggest to your parents when they come to visit and they inevitably use their debit card…