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Get your free copy24 September 2025, 07:00 AM
- Discover some of the best places to shop (and eat) in Cheshire as Speciality Food rounds up the county's best farm shops
Renowned for its dairy industry (it’s historically the heartland of British cheesemaking), Cheshire’s farmers continue to show pride in their produce and farming practices, and there are some cracking retailers to discover if you live in, or are visiting the county.
1. Cheerbrook Farm Shop & Cafe
Location: Nantwich
Shop hours: 9.30am to 5.30pm Tuesday, 9am to 5.30pm Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday.
The team have been celebrating the farm shop’s 25th anniversary this year. That’s 25 years of supporting and championing Cheshire’s fantastic producers (there’s at least 50 in store at any one time).
Cheerbrook is known for its butchery, where the craft butchers use the finest meat from local farms to produce all the cuts customers know and love, alongside homemade pies, sausage rolls and cold cuts such as pastrami.
Over in the bakery, cream cakes (think vanilla slices and eclairs) are a speciality.
And the deli counter bursts with cured meats, cheeses and more.
Cheerbrook is committed to doing its bit for the environment, working with as many like-minded businesses as possible to minimise single-use plastic and cut down food miles. All their bags are degradable, paper bags for customers are available, and all their own packaging is recyclable.
As well as shopping, the farm shop is a destination for foodies, who love nothing better than sitting down for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or towering cakes with a mug of speciality coffee in the cafe, looking out across the fields.
Location: Little Budworth
Shop hours: 8.30am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 5pm Sunday
Family run – and so much more than a farm shop. The expansion of this business, to add outlets in Lower Stretton and Tarporley, is testament to how beloved it is by locals.
The Hollies started life in the late 50s as a roadside stand. Today, the offering encompasses the farm shop, butchery, deli, takeaway, gorgeously decorated gift barn and luxury accommodation.
Something that gives The Hollies and edge (apart from the quality of the produce it stocks, of course) is its presentation. Every part of the store’s look has been carefully curated and considered, drawing you in across the shop floor. Fresh fruit and veg are arranged beautifully, with displays that invite you in, for example. The butchery team lay out an attractive counter of fully traceable higher welfare meats, alongside their own burgers, sausages and meal-prepped products.
And the cake display is an absolute stunner.
The Hollies is bountiful with homemade pies and cured meats, spirits, wines, chutneys, biscuits, crackers and sauces, with fish delivered five days a week from Big Fish Little Fish in Manchester.
Stay awhile for a bite from The Friesian Rooms takeaway (with outdoor dining), where you can tuck into everything from breakfast muffins to smash burgers and stone-baked focaccia breads.
Location: Warrington
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm every day
The key drivers at this farm shop are seasonality and traceability – both of which matter to the team. They work hard to source organic, free-range and grass-fed meat for the butchery, and have developed key partnerships with local farmers of both livestock, but fruit and veg, with fresh produce often arriving on the day it’s picked, still caked in soil.
Even fresher is the farm’s home-grown fruit and vegetables, which is crated up and shipped over to the shop at peak ripeness, with PYO available throughout the year. Staff ring the changes at the till as their own strawberries, black and white currants, asparagus and more fill up customer’s baskets. Some fields play an even bigger part in farm life, such as the pumpkin patch, which comes alive in October, and the maize maze, which draws a crowd in late summer.
Kenyon Hall’s farm team also collect honey and duck eggs, bake bread and cakes, and press rapeseed oil.
For those inspired to grow their own, there’s a plant centre on site. And for refuelling there’s a cafe, open daily for everything from breakfast barm cake, to brioche banana and Nutella French toast, sandwiches, soups, salads and homemade cakes.
Location: Knutsford
Shop hours: 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday
The main farm shop building here was used to house sheep over 60 years ago – hence the name. The Lambing Shed is manned by a proud farming family, who work around 400 acres, managing thousands of sheep and hundreds of cattle in what is an award-winning, true farm-to-fork story.
The butchery is notably one of the best in Britain, carrying cuts from rare breeds including British Blue and Longhorn, all raised and processed traditionally, with anything supplementing the farm’s own produce sourced from nearby trusted farmers who share the team’s values.
Some of the meat ends up in the deli counter, transformed into the farm shop’s award-winning pies, sausage rolls and pasties, which take pride of place with dozens of cheeses, charcuterie, olives and more.
And the rest of the shop is filled with goodies from nearly 50 suppliers heralding from Cheshire and beyond, be that Bowland & Whisk cakes, Burt’s Blue Cheeses, or gins made by Wild Fox Distillery, under the farm shop’s own label.
In the cafe the farm’s meat (including sausages, burgers, pies and salt beef) play a starring role alongside homemade cakes and bakes.
While outside there’s the opportunity to buy plants, trees, shrubs and flowers.
A big hit this year has been the seasonal Sandpit Barn, introduced over the summer months to bring the beach to Cheshire.
Location: Byley
Shop hours: 9am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday
For more than 60 years the family at Shanty Farm have been growing – both literally in the fields, and physically in building size.
The business started (as many other farm shops have) with a little stall in the yard. This moved into outbuildings, then into its own purpose-built building in 2011, which was further expanded in 2015.
A rebrand followed in 2018, along with the additions later of log cabins to house other outlets, and a tea room in 2020. All this growth just proves the appetite for good food and speciality shopping experiences in the area.
Homegrown produce is a big part of the offering here – including sprouts, beans, carrots, leafy greens, potatoes and pumpkins – with the family drawing upon other local producers to add the best meat, dairy, cakes, bakes, drinks, store cupboard essentials and more.
Location: Mottram St Andrews
Shop hours: 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Saturday, 9.30am to 4.30pm Sunday
Four generations of the Sidebottom family run this farm and shop, including Jack and Ella’s (who take the helm) own young children, who love to help out where they can.
Native breeds, from Texel sheep to Hereford cattle, and happy pigs are raised on the farm using traditional and modern techniques that ensure the highest welfare, and excellent stewardship of the countryside.
Jack heads up the butchery counter (as well as looking after the animals) bringing really really good meat to his customers, be that the most flavoursome mince, roasting joints, marinated cuts, or wild and wonderful sausages in flavours such as Caprese and Curry.
The deli carries homemade pies, sausages rolls, savouries and cheeses. Bread from artisan bakeries arrives six days a week. There are eggs from Poplars Farm, ice cream from Wallings, Bidlea Dairy and Ginge & Co, local beers and spirits, and (on Fridays and Saturdays), sweet treats sold outside at Bean Bakery’s pop-up.
Another weekend highlight is seasonal flowers, grown and picked by the family on the farm.
Families are very fond of the cafe, which boasts a seasonal menu, using homegrown ingredients, and some towering cakes. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating, and a play area is available for children.
Location: Nantwich
Shop hours: 8am to 5.45pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm Sunday
Andrew and Annie’s have the perfect formula for success – Andrew boasting many years of experience in butchery, while Annie delights in hospitality.
At the heart of their business is an eco-friendly and sustainable ethos, a farm to table approach, and a keen desire to support local wherever possible, sourcing the best meat, cheeses, bread, deli items and more for the shop.
A lot of thought goes into the cafe too, where favourites include the homemade Scotch eggs (in flavours from pork to spicy nduja), pie of the day, the double Longmans cheese burger, and a full Cheshire breakfast. Speciality drinks, such as quirky matchas and luxury hot chocolates are a speciality.
Location: Altrincham
Shop hours: 10am to 5.30pm Wednesday to Sunday
The working farm’s sustainable practices are very important to the team here, who work with nature – planting pollinators in uncropped areas to create vital habitats, looking after the soil using crop rotation and cover crops which go on to feed their mob-grazed cattle, and direct drilling to minimise soil disturbance.
The farm shop champions the business’s own slowly reared grass-fed beef and lamb and higher welfare pork, while the rest of the shop is stocked with as many Cheshire-sourced products and ingredients as possible, be that milk and cream from Pool Farm, cheese from The Cheshire Cheese Company, or flour and rapeseed oil from Walk Mill.
9. Hope Cottage Farm
Location: Chester
Shop hours: 7am to 7pm every day
An organic, antibiotic-free, free-range farm, run by the third generation of the Arden family, who are all about the good things in life – real meat, organic milk, raw cream and butter, and homemade ice cream.
The shop’s vending machine set up makes it easy to grab and go if you’re local to or visiting the area, and is well stocked with many different cuts of meat, dairy, artisan breads and cakes, homemade pies, sausage rolls and so much more.
It’s a very fun way to shop!
10. Glebe Farm
Location: Astbury
Shop hours: 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm Sunday
A whole day out. The site includes not only a farm shop, but a coffee shop, butchery, fishmongers, multiple other independent retailers, and paddocks, fields and pens filled with friendly furry creatures such as alpacas, ponies and donkeys.
Expect loose seasonal vegetables, sourced as locally as possible (check out the tasty Cheshire potatoes), daily deliveries of cakes and breads, local wines and spirits, a deli counter brimming with regional farmhouse cheeses, and a butchery, where head butcher Carl trims up meat from local farms, including Nantwich reared beef, matured for 21 days. The butchery is known for its homemade sausages and burgers, own cured bacon, pork pies, sausage rolls and meal solutions.
Select Fresh Fish visit on Thursdays too.
In a big effort to reduce single-use plastic on site, the team look very closely at packaging and products, with initiatives including Milk on Tap, where customers can fill up bottles with milk from Cheshire’s Bidlea Dairy in the shop.
Location: Middlewich
Shop hours: 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm Saturday, and from 8am Sunday
This is a destination shopping village, where visitors can find gifts, clothing and furniture – as well as crazy golf, and one of the largest reptile rescue centres in the North of England.
The farm shop is a celebration of Cheshire’s incredible food and drink scene, featuring bread from Chatwins and Mandervilles (delivered every morning), local fruit and veg – and even potatoes from the family’s own farm just 10 miles away.
The pastries (from quiches to sausage rolls) have many awards between them, and you can’t fail to be impressed by the patisserie counter, bursting with cheesecakes, sponges, traybakes and cream cakes, either made in-house, or sourced from trusted nearby bakeries. Don’t go home without a vanilla slice!
Stock up your freezer with a few purchases from the in-house butcher, Woods of Knutsford, whose range is huge, encompassing oven ready dishes and prepared meals.
And explore the range of ‘bottle your own’ spirits – ideal for gifting.
Location: Sandbach
Shop hours: 9am to 6.30pm every day
There’s a real family vibe at this farm shop, which has become beloved for its events, where attention to detail, and beautiful finishing touches give the site serious ‘Insta’ vibes throughout the year. From floral garlands around Mother’s Day, to Easter egg hunts in spring, and a pumpkin patch, complete with a Pumpkin Cottage in October – there are reasons to visit all-year-round.
The shop sells homegrown potatoes, local fresh fruit and veg, and all the everyday must-haves, from cheese and milk, to bread.
The onsite tea room is renowned locally for its farmhouse breakfasts, homemade cakes, and incredible chips, made using their own potatoes.
A gift shop, toy shop and garden centre add to the visitor experience, as does an extensive play area (fees apply), with an assault course, go karts, ride-on tractors, animals and more.
13. Waugh Brow Farm
Location: Mobberley
Shop hours: 9am to 3pm Wednesday, 9am to 4pm Thursday and Friday, 8am to 4pm Saturday, 9.30am to 3pm Sunday
The farm celebrates its 40-year anniversary this year. Dave and Ruth Jones rear cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens over their 140 acres, stocking the traditional butchers and deli counter in the shop.
A great number of other Cheshire food and drink businesses can be found here, be that Longley Farm’s award-winning yoghurts, milk from Bidlea Dairy, cheeses sourced from Carron Lodge, beers from Tatton Brewery, or Cheshire Farm Ice Cream.
Families flock to the Snack Shack and farmyard play area, where they can tuck into bacon butties, coffee and cake while their little ones burn off steam.
Location: Cheadle
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday
Family, fun and food rule at Nixon’s, where you’ll find not only the farm shop, but a butchers, pet shop, indoor and outdoor play areas, party venue, and plenty of animals to visit.
The farm shop is a go-to for local cakes, chutneys, honey, fruit and veg, ice creams, eggs and dairy, while the butchery is dedicated to showcasing the farm’s own pasture-grazed meat, and cuts sourced from other premium producers. Beef (matured on the carcass for 21 days) is exceptional.
Meat from here feeds into the tea room, where the menu changes throughout the seasons.
