In a day and age of coffee shops and clothes shopping, there's one fixture on Whitchurch High Street that offers an alternate view on life.

Healing Thyme sits next to the town's Civic Centre, giving the impression that it's just a small shop for herbal needs and health kicks but those who know it will know it's much more than that.

The store, which is owned by Therese Hickland and is run by practice lead Bee McGovern, has been referred to as having 'Tardis-like' capabilities, after the craft of Doctor Who, as it opens out to many rooms and floors.

And it is their plan to utilise the space with events that Bee, who has been at Healing Thyme for five years, thinks can help people in Whitchurch take an alternative view on life.

"We're expecting to bring things to Whitchurch that are to do with education and holistic health care," said Bee, who is originally from South Africa but now calls the town home.

"It's all about the sense of community that we have at Healing Thyme. We have regulars who come here for a chat and to have a safe space.

"Our first event was called 'Embrace the Change – navigating the map of the Peri-menopause which went really well.

"This week, we had someone in doing Kombucha, a workshop in making a fermented drink. We're working to push people's boundaries in a way that they can have a good time and but also do something different.

"It's a way of helping them through natural living."

Bee added that Healing Thyme's community feel will grow in the coming months, hoping to to establish a parent and baby drop in session so that parents can make use of the space to have a chat without feeling in the way, and will be introducing yoga too.

Kombucha is an interesting thing – this reporter happily admits it's not something I have come across before but frankly, the end results tasted amazing.

In one of the service rooms at the back of Healing Thyme, there is a bright, airy room with a kitchen that Emma Cronin, owner of Wild Pickle, is with her tutees.

She is showing them how to make the base for the Kombucha – sweetened tea – with the 'scoby' added.

It may be too simple a description but have you ever seen scrumpy cider after it goes off? Well then imagine the bits as a hardened piece and it provides the layer upon layer to give the Kombucha its flavour.

It was pleasant to watch Emma show them how to put it together, as well as sharing some of the previous efforts, a fermented Darjeeling tea among the best, and one member told me she is learning about it because of the health benefits brought by Kombucha.

Emma, who has run Wild Pickle for four years and has been fermenting or eight, admitted she really enjoyed the session at Healing Thyme , believing the room is perfect for group work.

"I liked doing it in this space – I have worked in a cafe and I have also done it in an old church in Anglesey too," she said.

"I really like that space in Healing Thyme as it's really spacious. I love the alchemy of fermenting and what you can come up with.

"It's great to do the classes like these."

For more about Wild Pickle and the process of Kombucha, head to Facebook.