With the summer right around the corner, here are six farm shops across England that you must visit during the holidays.
1. Taylors farm shop
The first stop on our farm shop tour of England is Taylors Farm shop in Lancashire in the North.
The farm is owned by the Webster family where they are known for their home reared beef, that has a low carbon footprint.
They have won National Farm Shop of the year in 2015 and 2017 and once you have visited, it is not hard to see why.
They off a taste of local Lancashire products, including Lancashire crisps, made at a nearby farm and other local delicacies. This farm shop is your one stop shop for Lancashire produce that does not disappoint.
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2. The Lambing Shed
Next, we head into Cheshire to The Lambing Shed that was a Gold winner for Diversification Innovator of the year (Large) at British Farming Awards in 2018. This year they are regional finalists for the Farm Shop and Deli awards 2022.
The farm shop was built up from the farms old lambing shed and has the core ethos of working in conjunction with the Mitchell familys sheep and beef production; allowing the business to grow while showcasing its efforts at the adjoining caf, butchery and delicatessen, stocked by more than 60 local suppliers.
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3. Daylesford Organic farm shop
We head down to Gloucestershire to Daylesford Organic farm shop and if you want to buy some organic seasonal British food, then this farm shop is the one for you.
Sustainability is at the core for Daylesford. Vegetables, fruit and herbs are picked each morning and next door to the farm shop is their dairy and creamery, where their organic animals roam freely on the surrounding pastures.
In 2021, the farm shop was named as a Michelin Green Star restaurant. If you visit Daylesford, be prepared for more than just a farm shop, there is a cookery school and garden.
4. Algys Farm shop
Heading to the east coast, there is Algys Farm shop in Norfolk.
Algy Garrod has farmed here since 1986 and as well as selling local, fresh produce, it is famous for its own branded popcorn. They cook top quality popcorn grains with their own home grown rape seed oil, sweetened with British sugar to create their decade long seriously crunchy recipe.
The farm shop also supplies a great range of seeds for wild birds that you might have in your garden. Varieties range from straight seeds such as Black Sunflower to seed mixes, to their most popular being the high energy mix that contains a variety of seeds making it attractive to a wide range of garden birds.
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5. Flower Farm
In Surrey there is Flower Farm shop that was a British Farming Awards silver winner in 2020 for Diversification Innovator (large) of the year.
The Deeley family has farmed at Flower Farm since the 1970s, when they introduced pick-your-own into the local community before progressing onto this thriving farm shop, butchery, deli and tea room.
Once a week, Patrick Deeley transforms the tea room into a micro pub selling craft beer which has been brewed on the farm using local ingredients.
This farm shop is also the home to the three day outdoor music festival Godstoneberry taking place in July.
6. Darts Farm
Finally, in the south west is Darts Farm in Devon.
There is so much to see and do at this farm shop, including a hen house open day, but if you are not able to visit the farm shop, you should take advantage of the Easter hampers available to purchase online over the Easter holidays.
The farm shop is vibrant and innovative overlooking the beautiful Clyst Valley.
The Dart brothers want visitors to have a unique shopping experience at their farm shop that champions local food and drink, from the farm and other passionate artisans. They want it to be about the great outdoors and for Darts farm to be somewhere that you can go and spend the whole day, reconnecting with nature by visiting the animals, winding your way through the vegetable fields, or wildlife spotting in the bird hide overlooking the wetlands.
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