Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash
Across the UK, farm shops have become destinations in their own right. They’re places where you can fill a basket with produce that hasn’t travelled halfway around the world, enjoy a proper breakfast, discover local cheeses you’ve never heard of and, if you’re lucky, leave with a loaf of still-warm bread tucked under your arm.
If you’re planning a countryside day out this summer, these are some of Britain’s finest farm shops.
No list could start anywhere other than Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Oxfordshire. Made famous by Jeremy Clarkson’s Clarkson’s Farm, it’s become one of the country’s most talked-about food destinations. Yes, you’ll probably queue. Yes, you’ll inevitably come home with something labelled “Cow Juice” or a jar of unusually named chutney. But beneath the television fame is exactly what Clarkson set out to create – a showcase for British farming and local produce.
For something rather more refined, Daylesford Organic in Gloucestershire remains one of the UK’s benchmark farm shops. Beautiful displays of seasonal vegetables, artisan cheeses, organic meat and freshly baked pastries make it dangerously easy to spend far more than intended!
Head south-west and you’ll find Darts Farm near Exeter. Family-owned for almost fifty years, it’s a celebration of Devon food, including West County cheese and cider, with an award-winning farm shop, artisan food hall, fishmonger, butcher and excellent restaurants all under one roof. It’s the sort of place where lunch accidentally turns into an afternoon.
In Cumbria, Tebay Farm Shop has earned something of a cult following. Attached to the famous motorway services, it proves motorway food doesn’t have to involve limp sandwiches and questionable sausage rolls. Local meats, homemade pies, cakes and regional specialities have made it a destination that many travellers deliberately build into their journey.
Meanwhile, food lovers in Sussex should make time for Cowdray Farm Shop. Packed with locally sourced produce, award-winning meats and seasonal fruit and vegetables, it perfectly captures the best of the South Downs.
Home to the Nicholson family, Cannon Hall Farm has become one of Britain’s most recognisable farms thanks to Channel 5 favourites including Springtime on the Farm, Winter on the Farm, Summer on the Farm and This Week on the Farm. The award-winning farm shop is packed with home-reared meat, local produce and Yorkshire favourites, making it well worth a visit even if you’re not planning a day at the farm itself.
