The Larder of the Home Counties: Real Provenance Within Reach

Address: Datchet Road, Old Windsor, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 2RQ

Founded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in November 2001, the Windsor Farm Shop occupies converted Victorian potting sheds on the edge of the Windsor Estate's Home Park. It is perhaps the most storied farm shop in Britain, and its provenance credentials remain unimpeachable: beef and pork come directly from the Windsor Farms, lamb from Bagshot Park, and seasonal game from the Royal Shoot in Windsor Great Park.

The Windsor Farms operate as a mixed farming model across some 3,000 acres, including a pedigree herd of 200 Jersey milking cows (whose organic milk produces the shop's ice cream), a Sussex beef herd established by Queen Elizabeth II, and around 200 Classic sows. The butchery counter remains the centrepiece, with handmade sausages crafted from Windsor Farm pork each week and beef dry-aged to proper maturity.

A note of honesty: following the management transfer to the Crown Estate in March 2024, some regular visitors have noted changes to the range and atmosphere. The shop underwent renovation and reopened in November 2024. It remains, however, a destination of genuine quality and historical significance, though expectations should be calibrated accordingly. The attached cafe serves breakfast, brunch, and light meals in a farm kitchen setting, with views across the historic Windsor landscape.

Open: Daily. Free parking available.

Somerset: Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL Mayfair: 64 South Audley Street, London W1K 2QT

If the Windsor Farm Shop represents heritage, Farm Shop represents the intersection of agriculture and contemporary culture. Established on the edge of the 1,000-acre Durslade Farm in Bruton, home to the internationally acclaimed Hauser & Wirth gallery, the Somerset shop opened in 2020 under Manuela Wirth's direction. It has since expanded to Mayfair, bringing genuine Somerset farm-to-table produce without leaving Zone 1.

The operation is substantial: Durslade Farm houses herds of Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, and Wagyu-cross cattle alongside Mule and Exlana sheep. There are vineyards producing the estate's own Maid of Bruton wines, a walled garden, apple orchards, beehives, and hedgerows for foraging. The butchery counter, staffed by an award-winning team, offers the farm's own rare-breed meat, dry-aged and hand-prepared, with everything from choice cuts to house-made Merguez sausages.

The 4,000-square-foot Mayfair venue, opened in 2024, includes a butchery, cheese room, deli, and a forty-cover wine bar in the basement. Products include wine from the estate's own Durslade Vineyards and a hyper-seasonal wild food range from in-house forager Kenny Jelfs. For Londoners, it delivers genuine Somerset farm-to-table produce without the M3.

Somerset hours: Thursday to Saturday 9am to 6pm; Sunday to Wednesday 9am to 5pm. Mayfair hours: Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Cotswolds: Daylesford Farm, near Kingham, Gloucestershire GL56 0YG London locations: Notting Hill, Pimlico, Marylebone, Selfridges

The seed that grew into Daylesford Organic was sown over forty years ago when Carole Bamford recognised the importance and benefits of organic farming. What began in 1975 as a simple passion for real food has become one of the most sustainable farms and retailers in the UK, with full Soil Association organic certification across its entire product range.

The flagship Cotswolds destination sprawls across nearly 2,000 acres. The 28-acre organic Market Garden supplies fresh fruit and vegetables; the on-site Bakery and Creamery produce breads and cheeses; the animals roam organic pastures at both the Gloucestershire and Staffordshire estates. The restaurants hold a Michelin Green Star for sustainable practices, one of the first UK establishments so recognised.

This is not a budget option. Daylesford has faced accusations of being "Marie Antoinette" farming, and prices reflect the premium positioning. But the commitment is genuine: the operation aims for zero waste, 100% recyclable or compostable packaging, and discounts at Food-To-Go counters for customers bringing reusable containers. Celebrity clientele aside, this remains serious farming with serious standards.

The London farm shops bring a slice of the Cotswolds to the city, with the same organic produce, prepared foods, and cafe offerings. Sales reached 49.1 million pounds in 2023, with strong online and wholesale demand.

Open: Daily. Cookery school, spa, and accommodation available at the Cotswolds site.

Address: Selling Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 8XF

The Kentish-Italian Neame-Cuomo family has been rooted in Faversham since 1847: six generations of food, farming, and retailing. Frederick Neame Snr first brought the family to Kent, where Macknade Farm became one of the region's leading fruit and vegetable growers, nationally renowned for hard fruit, hops, and livestock. In 1947, pears from the Macknade orchards were served at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten.

The farm shop began in 1979 as a tent in a field; it is now a 10,000-square-foot food hall ranked the second-best farm shop in the UK by HelloFresh in 2025. The deli counter houses one of the largest ranges of cheese and charcuterie available anywhere in the country, over 100 varieties. The full-service butchery offers whole-carcass beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and game. The wine store runs whisky tasting experiences; the Food Village hosts independent traders serving wood-fired pizza and authentic Indian cuisine.

Stefano Cuomo, Patricia and Renato's son, became managing director in 2013, the sixth generation to own and run Macknade. A second location opened in Ashford in 2020. The operation has stopped farming altogether, focusing solely on retail, but maintains its deep relationships with local producers.

Open: Monday to Wednesday 9am to 6pm; Thursday to Friday 9am to 8pm; Saturday 9am to 6pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Address: Winterdown Road, West End, Esher, Surrey KT10 8LS

George Henry Thompson moved to West End Village, Esher, in 1871, beginning the business now known as Garsons on land called Garson Farm. For a century, the family supplied fresh crops to Borough Market in London. When the rise of supermarkets in the 1970s threatened the wholesale model, the Thompson family pivoted: in 1981, they opened the farm to the public as one of the biggest Pick Your Own operations in the country.

Today, Garsons Esher remains family-run, with the current directors being fifth-generation descendants of George Henry Thompson, with 155 acres of PYO fields growing over forty crops from strawberries in June to pumpkins in October. The operation won the Farm Retail Association's UK Pick Your Own of the Year 2025.

The farm shop champions local food, sourcing produce from Surrey and surrounding counties wherever possible. Bevan's Butchers operates within the shop, offering quality fresh meat, while the deli stocks local cheeses, charcuterie, and prepared foods. The site also includes a substantial garden centre and The Orangery restaurant, opened in December 2015 with views across the fields and a commitment to using produce from the farm.

A second site operates in Titchfield, Hampshire.

Open: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm; Sunday 11am to 5pm. PYO seasonal (June to October).

Address: Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, Godalming, Surrey GU8 5HU

Established by Frederick Augustus Secrett in 1908, after his father gave him 1,000 pounds, the farm has been based in Kew, Twickenham, and since 1937 at Hurst Farm in Milford. During the Second World War, Secretts was one of the highest producers of vegetables in Britain; in the 1980s, it pioneered spinach supply to British supermarkets; in the 1990s, it became the first farm to grow wild rocket commercially.

Today, fourth-generation Greg Secrett and his team supply salad leaves, heritage vegetables, and lettuces to some of the UK's finest restaurants, Claridges among them, as well as directly to customers through the farm shop. The farm opened its shop in 1977; it now includes Surrey's most famous cheese counter, with over 300 varieties from the UK and Europe.

The award-winning Black Barn Butchers operates on site, noted for aged beef, local pork, and free-range poultry. Hawkins English Wine Merchants provides the wine selection. Eliza's vintage-style Tea Room serves homemade cakes and light meals; the tiny shop was featured as the village store in Nancy Meyers' film The Holiday.

The Pick Your Own fields span asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, plums, sunflowers, sweetcorn, squashes, and the much-loved Pumpkin Week each October.

Open: Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Address: London Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 7NT

Catherine Smith transformed her family's post-war arable farm into a thriving farm shop over two decades ago, beginning by selling home-produced beef from her farmhouse pantry. Today, Foxholes Farm is a third-generation family business perched on a hillside with views across 25 acres of Hertfordshire countryside.

The operation rears its own Aberdeen Angus-Simmental cross beef cattle, a breeding programme refined since the 1980s to combine the placid temperament and distinctive flavour of the Angus with the larger frame of the Simmental. The herds spend seven months on open pasture, rotating monthly to fresh grazing, including the King's Meads and Roydon nature reserves. Winter housing uses straw from the family's own arable farms; feed includes home-grown silage and forage maize.

The butchery is highly regarded, with a purpose-built curing room using the traditional dry-cure method for bacons, gammons, hams, pastramis, and salt beef. All sausages are handmade using natural casings and seasonal ingredients: fresh leeks, Much Hadham honey. The farm shop stocks over 50 British cheeses, home-baked bread, and produce from local suppliers. On-site Keloglan Dairy produces feta, halloumi, yoghurts, and butter using milk from the local Blue Grass Jersey herd.

The Farm Park welcomes families during weekends, bank holidays, and school holidays, with alpacas, goats, donkeys, and small animals. Glamping pods with hot tubs offer overnight stays.

Farm Shop open: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Address: Pipers Farm, Cullompton, Devon EX15 1SD Online: pipersfarm.com

For Londoners unwilling to travel, Pipers Farm brings the West Country to your doorstep. Established in 1989 by Peter and Henri Greig in the rolling hills of Devon, the operation began with Properly Free Range Chicken after the couple witnessed the realities of industrialised poultry farming. Thirty-five years later, Pipers Farm works with a network of over 40 regenerative farms across Devon and Cornwall.

All meat is 100% grass-fed from native British breeds: Red Ruby Devon cattle, Swaledale sheep, with livestock allowed to reach maturity at a natural pace rather than being pushed for rapid growth. The in-house butchery hangs beef for weeks, not days, producing the outstanding flavour and texture for which the operation is famed. Winner of the BBC Food and Farming "Best Producer" award.

The commitment extends beyond welfare: Pipers Farm actively supports rare breeds on the Rare Breeds Society Endangered List, maintains grassland ecology through traditional grazing, and advocates for eating less meat of higher quality rather than more meat of lower standard.

Delivery is next-day to mainland UK for orders placed by 11am Monday to Friday. Minimum order 40 pounds; reduced delivery at 75 pounds.