13 of the best farm shops in Kent

It’s not difficult to understand why Kent is heralded as the Garden of England. Throughout the year the county’s farms deliver the most exceptional bounty of fruit and vegetables. 

From sweet, glossy cherries, to scarlet-coloured strawberries, and hundreds of varieties of apple, plum and pear, the Kentish larder is enviable.

This farming and growing heritage is keenly felt in the local shopping opportunities, with dozens of farm shops, food halls, farmers’ markets and delis to discover.

Here are a few of our favourites we think you should seek out.

1. Broadditch Farm Shop

Location: Southfleet
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

The Harris family have farmed their land in Kent for nearly two centuries, with the responsibility of growing and harvesting now in the hands of the fifth generation Harris brothers.

They pride themselves on providing the freshest, tastiest homegrown fruit and veg for the community and visitors to the area, with the seasonal offering (from beetroots and asparagus’ to cob nuts, marrows and sweetcorn) usually displayed within the shop, just a few hours after picking.

The shop is housed in a converted farm building, and while showcasing the fruits of the family’s own labours is important, so is recognising and shining a light on the many, many other Kentish producers who make the food and drink scene here so special.

Visitors will find the wherewithal for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacking – including meats from Glover’s Farm, local honey, cheeses from Curd & Cure, Copper Rivet gin and vodka, and Dartford Wobbler Brewery beer.

Another lovely reason to pop by is the array of events the team put on, which this year has included a dinosaur-themed maze experience and scavenger hunt, with pumpkin picking landing in autumn, just in time for the school holidays.

2. Gibsons Farm Shop

Location: Wingham
Shop hours: 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 6pm Sunday

Extended opening hours (compared to most high street retailers) mean lovers of Kent-grown produce have plenty of opportunity to sample a taste of the county from this farm shop.

Every corner – every counter, chiller, freezer and shelf – screams ‘Kent’, with the business having championed local makers and growers for more than five decades.

Very much at the heart of the operation is the butchery, where the team proudly cut and prepare Gibsons’ very own home reared free-range pork, lamb and Aberdeen Angus beef, producing excellent quality ham, bacon sausages, and burgers too.

Sustainability and giving a nutritious alternative to supermarkets drives this operation, which is supplemented only by other farmers and gamekeepers they trust.

In the onsite bakery, pies, pasties, cakes and their very popular range of cookie pies are produced daily, and breads are made for them a mile down the road.

While the deli (the result of an extension seven years ago) stocks all the wherewithal for ‘picky teas’, picnics and grazing, including homemade savouries, cured meats, local, British and continental cheeses, and their own label pates and terrines.

The local message continues into the fresh produce range (including Gibsons’ own potatoes), and ambient goods, which include Kent-made beers, ciders, ice creams, snacks – even Kentish biscuits made by Zingiberi bakery, with air dried Bramley apples picked in the county, and hand roasted hazelnuts.

Homemade food rules the roost in the onsite cafe. And customers can even pick up plants, or bouquets and arrangement from Gibsons’ florist.

3. Eggs to Apples Farm Shop

Location: Hurst Green
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Wednesday and Saturday, 8.30am to 6pm Thursday and Friday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

Within the walls of this striking modern, wood-cladded building (found in a very attractive Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), shoppers can buy everything they need ... and more!

Eggs to Apples is known for its beautiful displays (which actively make you want to shop and cook) and for moving with the times, offering both traditional and trend-leading products for every kind of customer.

This includes holidaymakers (and, of course, locals) who can pre-order meal solutions such as steak and wine, grazing or salmon and Bucks Fizz boxes.

The team are pleased to support around 70 businesses in Kent and East Sussex to keep food miles low, working with local farms to buy in affordable, seasonal fresh produce with minimal packaging, and stocking everything else to throw a meal together, from a huge array of herbs and spices, to wholefoods, sauces, teas, coffees, cakes, biscuits, preserves and chutneys.

A wide number of free-from products is available too (including fresh baked items from two local makers).

That’s not to mention the butchery (where there’s an excellent BBQ selection), deli packed with homemade savouries, tarts, sandwiches, salads and local cheeses, and bakery area, where breads and other goods are delivered every day from two high quality bakers.

A visit to Eggs to Apples isn’t complete without stopping for a mug of their own blend coffee with breakfast, lunch or a slice of cake at the cafe.

4. Quex Barn

Location: Birchington
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Sunday and Monday,9am to 5.30pm Tuesday to Saturday

Immersed in the Quex Park Estate, the timber framed barn housing this award-winning farm shop packs in an amazing array of products – spanning a butchery, deli, bakery, wet fish counter, florist, coffee shop and restaurant.

A primary mission here is to get as much local produce on people’s plates as possible, drawing on the passion and expertise of farmers cultivating the area’s Grade I agricultural land – famed for its high yields of excellent top and soft fruits, salads and veg.

The team squeeze as much out of this local offering as possible, with the fresh produce area of the farm shop welcoming a seasonal rotation of ingredients.

Another source of pride is the butchery. The butchers take in whole carcasses and break them down themselves, ensuring they can not only offer the best value for customers, but that they can prepare every cut to their own specifications.

Meat comes only from trusted local partners. Beef, for example, is pasture raised eight miles away by Chandler and Dunn, and sheep are the traditional Romney breed, reared on marshlands on a diet of hay, grass and sileage.

The butchery is known for its handmade sausages, which draw in shoppers from miles away – as do the coffee shop and restaurant, where they can tuck into homemade sausage rolls, scones, cakes or Sunday lunches

With the community in mind, the farm shop offers a free local delivery service on Fridays.

5. Perry Court Farm

Location: Wye
Shop hours: 8am to 6pm daily

The phrases ‘homemade’ and ‘homegrown’ can be quite throwaway these days, but at Perry Court Farm, they really do mean both.

The family-run business bases its operations around what they rear and grow on the land. This includes raising pedigree Southdown sheep (who spend their time grazing in the orchards), and rearing Berkshire pigs – both of which (alongside other locally sourced meats) are expertly transformed in the shop by master butcher Nino.

In season, the farm’s own strawberries, cherries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and redcurrants are available. But it’s in autumn that things are taken up a notch, as their 200 or more varieties of apples and pears come to fruition – celebrated in the site’s annual Apple Fayre.

The family just love to showcase everything they do, while championing other farmers and producers who share their values.

In the shop you’ll find bread sourced from four local bakers, a deli counter and cheese room, a large refills section, plants and seeds grown on site, and (from Wednesday to Saturday) the Fish Hut. Operated by South Coast Seafayre, this gives shoppers the opportunity to buy prime catches from small local day boats, alongside their own smoked fish and pates.

Stop for a while in the tearoom, where fodder ranges from soups, sandwiches and savouries (garnished with homegrown salad leaves), to impressive afternoon teas.

6. Stanhill Farm

Location: Dartford
Shop hours: 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm Sunday

This is a farm shop in every sense of the word – ie, it’s a working farm, and much of what customers trundle home with in their car is grown here.

The Williams brothers bought the 150-acre business in the early noughties, when it largely supplied supermarkets, while operating a small PYO side arm.

They’ve moved away from that model, today selling direct to the public and other local businesses, offering around 30 varieties of fruit and vegetables, and expanding the PYO operation, adding in a maize maze (with its own seasonal cafe) in summer, and pumpkin patch in autumn.

As well as getting their hands on the freshest seasonal produce, shoppers will find traditionally reared, additive-free beef, lamb and pork sourced from fourth generation farmers, Glover’s Quality Meats, near Longfield, local eggs and cheeses, weekly deliveries of bread from Sourdough Mikate, loose nuts, grains and pulses, spices and seasonings, and Ecoleaf refillable household cleaning products.

Click and collect is available, which has helped to expand the farm shop’s appeal.

7. The Goods Shed

Location: Canterbury
Shop hours: 9am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

A feast for the senses. This isn’t a farm shop – it’s a foodie experience reminiscent of the ‘halles’ of France or ‘mercados’ of Spain, sitting somewhere between a food hall, farmers’ market and deli.

The building (with its stunning windows and exposed brick and beam) is drop-dead gorgeous, but even this doesn’t detract from the beauty of the food and drink, which vibrantly colour every part of the space.

Taking centre stage in the farmers’ market area is the fruit and vegetable stall, which screams abundance. It’s been so beautifully curated, and is thoughtfully presented, stocked with produce sourced from farms within 12 miles of the shop floor.

Elsewhere in the market you’ll find local meat, the only independent fishmonger in the Canterbury area, slowly fermented Italian and British breads from Enzo’s Bakery, an array of local and British artisan cheeses chosen by the Cheesemakers of Canterbury, French and Spanish food and drink, Caruso Pastificio’s pasta and Italian foods, fine wines, and the best of the Kentish larder in the quaint, oldy-worldy setting of Murray’s General Stores.

If you get peckish, Wild Goose sells small plates and very lovely cocktails, or settle in for lunch in the restaurant, where chefs create their menus using produce from the market.

8. Cherry Gardens Organic Farm & Farm Shop

Location: Groombridge
Shop hours: 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday

A small but worthy addition to this list. Surrounded by some of Kent’s most beautiful countryside, overlooking the Sussex Weald, Cherry Gardens’ prime focus is tending to the land, and producing healthy, vibrant organic vegetables.

Working with the rhythms of nature, managing hedgerows and habitats, rotating crops, and using cover crops, the team grow everything from beetroot and purple sprouting broccoli to kalettes, potatoes, rhubarb, courgettes and chillies across the farm’s 33 acres.

These are supplemented in the shop by the best organic meat, dairy, dried goods, eggs, ice cream and more, as well as local honey, and homemade preserves.

Additionally, visitors in high summer can pick their own flowers, tayberries and blackcurrants.

9. Taywell Farm Shop

Location: Goudhurst
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

This farm shop, in a former shooting lodge, absolutely bursts with local products and ingredients, tapping into the rich bounty that Kent has to offer – be that meat, seasonal soft fruits, oils, chutneys, biscuits or cakes, organic, free from or fairly traded.

Nicely signposted (it’s super easy to find what you’re looking for thanks to clear signage) there’s not one corner of the shop that isn’t dedicated to the makers of Kent. The principle of buying from local farmers and producers underpins the foundations of this place, and the team work very hard to source the best, while limiting food miles.

The bright coffee shop on site is very popular locally, with outdoor seating for sunny days, and a wood burner indoors for when the chill sets in. Quiches, artisan filled baguettes and their ‘famous sausage rolls’ top the bill on the menu.

10. Groombridge Farm Shop

Location: Tunbridge Wells
Shop hours: 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm Sunday

Though housed in an attractive traditional barn set up, Groombridge Farm Shop is anything but twee and old-fashioned. It has very much moved with the times since opening, tapping into what the modern farm shop customer wants.

That includes paying attention to their desire for sustainable, local, traceable food and drink, considering the ingredient lists of the products in stock, and even making sure what they sell isn’t wrapped in excess plastic.

Kent and Sussex feature heavily on the labels of a swathe of what’s in store – be that the best soft and top fruits, or vegetables, which land seasonally throughout the year, New Park Farm eggs, meat and deli products from the renowned Southborough Butchers in Tunbridge Wells, Simply Ice Cream, or prized cheeses from the Southeast of England – from tangy Kentish Blue, to Sussex Charmer (a great alternative to Parmesan), and lots of options from the award-winning Alsop & Walker.

Everything in between, be that bread from Groombridge Village Bakery, porridge oats, flour, rice, pasta, sauces or preserves, can be found on the shelves too.

Camping packs hampers are available to pre-order online (handy if you’re staying in the area), and many products can be found on the farm shop’s website, where you can order in advance to collect, or pay just £3 for delivery within five miles. This allows the team to bring the farm shop experience to as many people as possible.

11. Mallards Farm

Location: Hernhill
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm

A small but fantastic farm shop, run by the third generation of the family to cultivate the land within the Market Garden Farm.

A great deal of time, care, attention and knowledge goes into the process, combining traditional and modern techniques to keep inputs to a very minimum, ensuring what is sold in the shop is as natural as possible.

Crop rotation (where land is only cropped four years out of nine) is practiced to maintain the integrity and structure of the soil, the farm’s own manure is used as fertiliser, as much as possible is recycled, and no plastic is used on the farm as a rule.

What’s on offer in the farm shop changes across the year, but is incredibly varied, spanning asparagus and beetroots, to brassicas, courgettes, potatoes, hazelnuts, leeks, marrows and sweetcorn.

The farm grows six varieties of cherry, a number of plums (from early Opals to late Guineveres), and also sells pears from the neighbouring orchard, which the team maintains.

Goose eggs (they’re free range on the farm, and fed a natural diet) are a must buy if you see them (they make incredible Yorkshire puddings), and you might be lucky enough to get your hands on their home reared lamb or pork.

Produce from the market garden is supplemented only with local produce, from folks who share the same values as the owners, with honey, eggs, apples, jams, chutneys and more available.

Note that the farm shop only takes cash.

12. Cranbrook Farm Shop & Nursery

Location: Cranbrook
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

There’s so much to see at this large, family-run farm shop, where everyday essentials are sold side-by-side with gifts, and a huge array of delicious treats.

‘Fresh’ is the buzzword here. Fruit and vegetables arrive daily from farms in Kent and Sussex and London markets – with deliveries boasting anything from dazzlingly coloured heritage tomatoes to cobnuts presented in their furling leaves, and strings of garlic and shallots.

Bread, cakes and pastries (including gluten-free options) are also delivered every day from The Sussex Kitchen, Rye Bakery and Cranbrook Bakery.

The majority of meat is from Kentish farms and is fully traceable, milk and yoghurt come courtesy of Hindxen Farm, where cattle are grazed on pastures in the summer (bring in your milk bottles to reuse them), and cheese and cured meats are sourced from trusted supplier Curd & Cure.

That’s not to mention the shop’s homemade fresh sandwiches, salads, pastries, soups and champion Scotch eggs, or the range of handmade pies from celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager.

Green fingered shoppers are always delighted by visits here too. There are fresh cut flowers, garden gifts and equipment, plants (80% of them grown in Kent and Sussex), and a garden shop selling seeds, tools, bulbs, houseplants and more.

Minimising waste, and being as sustainable as possible are important to the team, who encourage shoppers to bring their own bags (cardboard boxes and biodegradable carrier bags are available). And customers will also find eco-friendly refills from Kent-based brand Splosh.

13. Holwood Farm

Location: Keston
Shop hours: 9am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

There’s a lot of history here. Most famously the farm was home to William Pitt the Younger, the architect of Holwood House.

A great deal, naturally, has changed since then, with the farm shop constantly evolving to meet customer needs. One thing that never alters though is the team’s commitment to local.

Within the large store you’ll find British charcuterie, fruit and veg from Taste of the Weald, honey from Kentish beekeeper Dan Geary, Chegworth Valley juices and so much more.

Cheese is a speciality (they even make cheese ‘cakes’), with Holwood Farm offering more than 50 different types, leaning strongly towards artisan varieties from makers in Kent and Sussex – from Kentish Blue, to Winterdale Shaw, Duddleswell and Burwash Rose. Many of these will rarely be seen outside of this part of England, making the farm shop a must-visit for regional ‘cheese seekers’.

Fresh meat is prepared every day by the master butchers on site, who spend a lot of time sourcing what they consider the best of the best, be that saltmarsh Welsh lamb, free-range apple-fed Essex pork, or Charolais x Angus beef.

And fishmonger Charlie and wife Rachael are at hand from 9am to 2pm, Thursday to Saturday, selling excellent quality seafood, and their homemade fish pates and fishcakes.

Much of the above is available to order via the farm shop’s click and collect service.

If all that shopping makes you peckish, pull up a seat in the mezzanine cafe, where breakfast, lunch, homemade cakes and Sunday roasts are served.