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Farmers' Markets, Farm Shops, Pick Your Own... find them all here! Use our postcode search below to find local foods from farmers and producers who have decided to cut out the middle-men and sell direct to you. |
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Find local food today!
Just put in a keyword or your postcode below and we'll find you your local farm shops, farmers' markets, pick your own farms and farm attractions. First box is for keywords, like the name of a shop or a specific product you're after (like apples); the second box is for your postcode or town name.
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 Local Food Heroes
Meet the Garlic Farmer. Colin Boswell and his family have been growing garlic on the Isle of Wight for more than 30 years; ever since Colin’s mother produced remarkable white bulbs in her kitchen garden during the hot summers of ‘75 and ’76. The fertile greensands, combined with the relatively long, dry summer season on the Island, provide ideal growing conditions, and today 60 acres are given over to the production of around 2.5 million bulbs each year.
Colin’s garlic (and garlic chutneys, garlic dressings, garlic butter, garlic beer ... ) is sold on the family farm (The Garlic Farm) on the Isle of Wight
[Click here to read more]
One of the Best for... History
Battlefield 1403 is all about joining the dots in local food production. To the casual shopper, it is the site of an attractive farm shop and café offering delicious homemade and local fare. Dig a little further (you are encouraged to do so) and you realise the food on offer is the finale of an even grander story.
The farm shop specialises in beef and lamb – the over-the counter butchery offers an enticing range of trimmed, portioned, stuffed, marinated cuts. The meat comes from animals reared on the Estate by the Jagger family, who have farmed there since 1853 (that’s six generations ago). Sparrow’s Café is named after the original family surname, and serves a monumental award-winning beef and Shropshire ale pie...
[Click here to read more]
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 For a foodie, discovering the first box of fresh local spears in Spring is somewhat akinto seeing the first homegrown athlete cross the finishing line. It is a sign of hope, a triumph over adverse cold nights, unseasonal drought, and torrential rainfall; a grassy greenness that is recognised as the best in its field.
And there’s no doubt that this year has been a particular challenge for asparagus. A warm dry March promised an early crop, but the return of wet and, in particular, cold weather in April meant the spears have been slow off the mark. The supermarkets are struggling to find an adequate UK supply, but it can now be bought direct from the farm, at farm shops, and farmers’ markets - just call to check availability before you head out. As soon as the weather warms up (even warm rain will do the trick) expect a green deluge!
‘The Asparagus Farm’ in Groombridge, East Sussex, is one of the country’s premier asparagus growers selling direct to the public. Owner Stephen Barnes farms 30 acres of the mighty green there and at other locations in Sussex and Kent, and sells direct from the farm and at farmers’ markets from mid-April until mid-June (until it’s all gone). You can buy premium spears at £6.90/kg, Sprue (the slimmer sort) at £5.50/kg or bent ones for soups , salads and stir-fries at £4.50/kg. www.theasparagusfarm.co.ukIn Yorkshire, the Spilman family grow 3 varieties of asparagus in Helperby, near York, and sell to the public from the farm and their farm shop www.spilmanfarming.co.uk The Balloon Tree Farm Shop down the road is also worth trying as some of the crop is grown undercover to help combat the cold weather www.theballoontree.co.uk
For a unique Father’s Day present, Secretts’ Farm in Surrey will send you some of their prime spears, beautifully presented, harvested and posted on the same day. 450g for £9.99 or 900g for £16.99, including p&p. Orders need to be placed by 10am Thursday 14 June to arrive in time. www.secretts.co.uk
You can search our website to find out where local asparagus near you – but please call and check availability before making a special trip.
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It appears that Elephant milk makes fantastic ice-cream. Admittedly, we’re not talking about the large grey wonders of India and Africa, but of a herd of Devonshire Milking Cows otherwise known as the “Orange Elephants” due to their large size, wide faces, big ears and rust-coloured coats.
The Orange Elephants were once prized for both their milk and their meat, but the post Second World war demand for greater milk yields meant that most farmers opted to keep the more familiar black and white Holstein-Fresian cows. Then in 2005, Rob and Helen Taverner, who run Taverners’ Farm Shop just outside Exeter, decided the time had come to reintroduce the local breed once again, and began turning the wonderfully creamy milk from their small herd into delicious handmade ice-cream.
You’ll find a large and enticing range of Award-winning flavours on offer at the Farm Shop and Ice Cream Parlour; from the pure flavours of Belgian Chocolate and Simply South Devon, to the more adventurous Elderflower & Lime (Devon County Show champion in 2009 and Bronze in Taste of the West), Muddy Green Wellies (mint choc chip) or Cathedral Crunch.
So next time you’re heading down the M5 on holiday... pop in and try one.
http://www.tavernersfarm.co.uk
Photo courtesy of Taverners' Farm Shop
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