EAST Lancashire's rural entrepreneurs have been given a taste of European food culture on a fact-finding mission to Sweden.

A country hotel and a cafe from Clitheroe were part of a delegation from the North West which visited the country to see how other countries improve rural business.

Now some of the group who made the trip to Scandinavia are looking to put in place some of the ideas they picked up on their trip.

And that could include a novel way of selling food which helps to teach people about what they are buying.

The trip was taken to help rural businessmen and women pick up tips on making a success of their firms at a time when the rural economy is under increasing pressure.

Simon Barnes, owner of the Les Routiers accredited Bashall Barn farm shop and caf, was part of the English party and was paying particular interest to how the Scandinavians integrated working on farms with educating children in the classroom.

He said: "We took a tour of a butcher's shop within a school. Teaching people the history of produce before they see it on a shop shelf is an excellent idea, and one we will look at introducing ourselves."

The fact-finding mission had been set-up by the Clitheroe-based Lancashire Rural Futures, an organisation which gives business and environmental advice and support to the farming and rural communities, after the Swedes paid a similar visit to the North West.

Simon said: "They had never seen a set-up like ours, they were surprised and fascinated by the range and quality of our products available at a retail outlet in the heart of the countryside.

"It was fascinating to see Swedish businesses facing the same challenges."