The owner of the only café in a picturesque Buckinghamshire village said she was 'really excited' to be recognised as ‘best place to eat’ in the county.

Terri-Ellen Holmes, 40, founded The Glebe Café in Ashley Green, Chesham after a committee discussion about how best to develop the village’s park and play area sparked the idea of a community coffee shop where parents could enjoy a hot drink and a catch up while keeping an eye on their children.

Fast forward two years, and the café, behind the Memorial Hall on Two Dells Lane, has become a roaring success, hosting annual events including a Halloween Trail and a Christmas dog walk as well as growing a steady base of loyal customers, within Ashley Green and far beyond.

The latest string to Terri-Ellen’s bow is a Red Kite Days award naming it the best spot for eating out in Buckinghamshire – recognition that the 40-year-old described as “really exciting” and “fantastic news”.

The Red Kite Days blog, which offers a guide to family fun and activities around the UK, praised The Glebe Café for its mud-free playground, outside terrace, which surveils “90 per cent” of the playground area, and its range of “great coffee and locally homemade products”.

The level of success the establishment has enjoyed in such a short time frame – with customers from London and Oxford phoning in for directions after being recommended by their friends – is due both to the rural attraction of Ashley Green and the café’s unique appeal as an outdoor community hub, according to Terri-Ellen.

READ MORE: A cut above the rest: Buckinghamshire town barber shop voted best in south east

She said: “There wasn’t anything like it in Ashley Green before, there were just two pubs. The beauty of it is the village didn't really used to be thought of as a destination and now it is. We’ve even had people visiting from other villages saying they’d like to have more places like it where they live.”

She is a mother herself, with an eight-year-old and a five-year-old, and the driving force behind founding the local business was her awareness of a certain lack in the otherwise “beautiful and lovely” area.

“When I put the idea to the Community Association, they loved it. I’d always wanted to do something like this but never quite had the time, especially when I was working around my children.

“I just thought it would be amazing if we had a truly local café, with local coffee, which we source from Kings Langley, and homemade cakes and pastries. We want it to primarily be a community café, serving the locals.”

Terri-Ellen also makes an effort to source staff from the local area, and said the community as a whole had been “so excited” to learn about the award, which was a clear sign that “we are doing something right”.

“The café is my baby and I’m so proud of everything we’re doing with it now, especially all these lovely, fun events. The great thing about it is that it really is for everyone.”