The historic shop where people have been travelling for ice cream for 128 years

For many living in Swansea, a trip on a sunny day down to the Gower is not complete without a stop off at one place in particular. Located just off the busy South Gower Road in Ilston is a local store serving up sweet treats which generations of people have travelled far and wide to enjoy.

Shepherds has been a part of Swansea’s history for 128 years, having been first established in 1896 by the Shepherds family, and only passing hands twice since. As well as its cafe, it takes pride in stocking locally produced goods, must have convenience items, household items and unique gifts. But the star of the show is its famous ice cream counter, made up of many different flavours.

In the 1970s, it used to be made there, but after regulations changed, suppliers stepped in, with Marshfield Farm ice cream now served. But its counter is every bit as popular as it ever was, with long queues forming by the likes of children on school trips, all eager to tuck into a couple of scoops of its bubble gum flavour. The most popular sellers during the week are vanilla, salted caramel and honeycomb, but the weekend is where long-running tradition is still honoured, as older customers travel from as far as Cardiff for a serving of the famous rum and raisin flavour. For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here.

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Its current owners, Carla Humphreys and partner Luke Borrelli, stepped forward back in 2019 to keep the business alive after they noticed it up for sale. Having decided to relocate, Ms Humphreys, a solicitor, and Mr Borrelli, who worked at Castell Howell, found themselves out of their comfort zone, taking on an entirely new career path.

But they found their feet in no time, and fully embraced the values which has made the shop as successful as it has been through the years. In time honoured tradition, the pair lead their business model on the needs of the community – and if someone living in the rural area requests an item, they go the extra mile to make sure it is stocked. They focus on stocking good quality items, such as Gower Coffee and hard to find vegan items. They also established a cafe selling light lunch and coffees.

Inside, there are still pictures of how it looked all that time ago behind the counter, and attention has been paid to try and make the feel of the shop not too dissimilar to how it was originally, despite extensive transformation works to its interior when they first took over.

Ms Humphreys said: “The ice cream has so much history, some of our oldest customers remember coming here for it when they were young. You’ve got the bubble gum flavour which all the kids want, and you’ve got the more traditional flavours like rum and raisin too. Customers have also said that they come down here for things they could not get from other places. We look to stock good quality products, vegan and organic foods, and the things that people want, just to run as a good old fashioned convenience store. We try to keep as much local and Welsh made stuff in as we can, without it becoming silly.

“Everything that people say, we take on board and we do. It’s a two way street between us and the customers, we want to have what they want here for them. People will even text me saying: ‘I want this, I want that’ and we’ll look to get it for them.”

Caroline Rutter will have worked at Shepherds for 25 years come November, and has plenty of memories of how the business has changed through the years. She said: “I first started just as a Sunday shift, and it became more and more, and I have done four days a week for around 20 years now.

“Shepherds used to do their own ice cream, until regulations came in, and it changed to different suppliers. It was Walls, then Carte D’or, and now for the last ten or 12 years it has been Marshfield Farm, but it has still continued to be as popular as ever for a place to come for ice cream. Our best selling flavours are definitely vanilla, salted caramel and honeycomb. But on Sunday, the most popular is definitely rum and raisin. We have people travelling down from Cardiff every week to have it.

“The best thing about working here is definitely the people, we have had the same customers coming here every day. They become not just customers, but like family and friends. I have seen people grow up, coming here as kids and now in their twenties. Everyone knows each other and will pass on messages to each other through us. The loveliness of everybody makes my day, it’s good to have an old fashioned chin wag.”

Shepherds can be found at South Gower Road, Ilston, Swansea, postcode SA3 2EH, and is open from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 5.30pm, and Sundays from 8.30am until 5.30pm. Try WalesOnline Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.