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Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields, Devon

Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields, Devon

Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields Lifton: a magical autumn day out

As the air turns crisp and the hedgerows glow gold, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than by visiting Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields, Lifton. This is more than just pumpkin picking! It’s a full-on autumn festival, perfect for families and lovers of countryside escapes. Strawberry Fields may be the name, but in autumn the fields in question are alive with thousands upon thousands of orange pumpkins, just waiting to be picked.

For those who love supporting British farms, seeking out local experiences and discovering destination farm shops, Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields is exactly the kind of farm day out to remember: it’s one of the myriad reasons we’ve included Strawberry Fields in The Farm Shop Guide (and in our other guidebook too: The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services). 

Visit Pumpkin Fest in 2025: Strawberry Fields Farm Shop’s biggest ever celebration of pumpkins, Halloween, and seasonal British food and fun! 

How to get to Strawberry Fields' Pumpkin Fest

  • Address: Strawberry Fields Farm Shop, Cookworthy Road, Lifton, Devon, PL16 0JL

  • Travel by car: The farm is accessed via local country roads; look for signage as you approach Lifton from the A30.

  • Public transport: Depending on where you are, you might take a train or bus to nearby towns and then it’s a short bike ride or taxi ride. (Check local bus routes in late October.)

  • Parking: On-site parking is usually available, often included in the ticket or for a small fee. Check ahead. 

What's on at Pumpkin Fest: highlights and top experiences

At Pumpkin Fest, there’s a lively mix of harvest fun, autumn atmosphere and festive treats. Expect:

  • huge pumpkin patch: thousands of homegrown pumpkins ready to pick!

  • Creepy Carnival maize maze for spooky wanderings

  • barrel train rides through the grounds

  • photo spots and displays with giant pumpkins, autumnal backdrops and seasonal scenes

  • magic shows, circus acts, live music and entertainment for children 

  • food stalls, autumn treats (pumpkin spiced items, hot drinks, pies etc.) 

  • Pumpkin Nights evenings with illuminated pumpkins, music and family entertainment (after-dark events) 

In short: Pumpkin Fest blends pick-your-own fun, festival atmosphere and seasonal charm.

Pumpkin Fest costs and tickets

  • General admission tickets are £4.95 for Pumpkin Fest sessions. 

  • The Creepy Carnival Maize Maze is priced separately at around £3.95. 

  • Parking may be included or charged (check the farm’s event pages for current details as it can vary from event to event).

  • Carers tickets may be available (often free or discounted), check online or call ahead for details if this would be useful for you.

  • Tickets tend to sell out for popular times: booking in advance is wise and always check ahead for any updates to pricing, opening hours, availability or parking costs. 

About Strawberry Fields Farm Shop

Strawberry Fields is not just about pumpkin festivals; it’s one of the region’s celebrated farm shops with a reputation for quality produce, artisan food, a bakery, pantry goods, local meats, and seasonal fruit and veg.

The farm shop often acts as the anchor to the event: visitors can arrive early or linger later to browse, enjoy a meal or a coffee, or to shop locally. The farm shop’s ethos aligns beautifully with what The Farm Shop Guide stands for: showcasing independent, authentic, regionally rooted farm destinations.

By including places like Strawberry Fields in The Farm Shop Guide, we help readers discover not just where to pick pumpkins, but where to shop local, meet producers, enjoy good food, and support sustainable farms.

A taste of the season...and a reason to explore

The Farm Shop Guide celebrates farm-to-fork food all year round, but autumn is when Britain’s farm shops truly shine. From freshly pressed apple juice to hearty soups, home-baked cakes, and steaming cups of hot chocolate, you’ll find every reason to embrace the season in farm shops, farm shop cafés, and farms’ PYO fields across Britain. 

Each entry in the book features an independent, hand-picked farm shop. Many have their own cafés, support local producers and stage seasonal and family-friendly events. Many are places that can turn food shopping into a day out for the whole family. Whether you’re in Cardiff, Cumbria or John o’Groats, there’s a pumpkin patch, apple orchard or farm shop or café waiting to welcome you.

Final thoughts

Pumpkin Fest at Strawberry Fields, Lifton, is a seasonal highlight worth planning for. It combines pick-your-own pumpkins, festival charm, live entertainment, and the chance to shop in a thriving farm shop. Whether you’re driving from a nearby county or exploring your backyard, Strawberry Fields is a destination that delivers feel-good fun, autumn colours, and a real connection to a local farm.

For any reader who values knowing where their food comes from, who loves the idea of farms as community hubs, and who wants to support local growers, The Farm Shop Guide is your road map to many more experiences like this. Use the book to find your next pumpkin patch, apple orchard or harvest festival, to visit farm shops that care deeply about quality, sustainability and place.

See you in the patch this October! 🎃

Image below (c) Matt Austin

Strawberry Fields Farm Shop, Lifton, (c) Matt Austin
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Find your perfect pumpkin patch this halloween

Pumpkins at the pumpkin patch at Drewton's Farm

Find your perfect pumpkin patch this Halloween

As the leaves turn gold and the nights draw in, there’s no better way to celebrate autumn than with a trip to a local farm shop or pumpkin patch. Across Britain, fields are glowing orange with pumpkins ready to be picked, carved and cooked, with many farm shops turning the season into a full-blown celebration, with Halloween trails, harvest festivals, and family-friendly days out.

If you love discovering local food, seasonal produce, and countryside adventures, The Farm Shop Guide is your ultimate companion. It’s packed with over 160 brilliant farm shops, pick-your-own farms, farm shop cafés, and growers across the UK, with some of the best pumpkin patches and autumn events happening right now.

So order your copy of The Farm Shop Guide before you search “pumpkin patch near me” or “Halloween events near me”, for the book might just do all the hard work for you. You’ll simply need to grab your wellies then head out to explore the kind of places that make autumn in Britain so special.

Below we list some top spots from The Farm Shop Guide known for their pumpkin activities. After, we’ll show you how to carve your pumpkin, and even how to use it up once Halloween is all done and dusted for another year. 

Why visit a farm shop pumpkin patch?

  • Fresh from the field: pumpkins that have ripened naturally and that haven’t been shipped halfway around the world.

  • Family fun: some farms offer hay-bale mazes, tractor rides, Halloween events and spooky-themed cafés.

  • Support local farmers: every pumpkin sold helps keep small British farms thriving.

  • Sustainable celebrations: farm shops often use minimal packaging and grow with the environment in mind. When you work with the soil directly, you know exactly what it loves, and what it doesn’t…

By visiting your local farm shop, you’re not just picking or buying a local pumpkin. You’re supporting British farming, reducing food miles, and helping build a sustainable, community-driven food culture.

Get a pumpkin from Upper Dysart Larder, Montrose

A farm shop: but not as you know it, and pumpkins are available in season. Here’s what The Farm Shop Guide has to say about Upper Dysart Larder.

Four generations of Stirlings have tended the land here which focuses on potato crops. Having supplied schools, hospitals, and supermarkets for years, the family was keen to show that no-one makes mash quite like a potato farmer, and began to cook up different flavours on the farm: chorizo, haggis, and cauliflower cheese to name a few. Their meals are sold via a touch-screen farm-to-table vending machine, next to fresh meat and pies, Scottish-made drinks, cheese, and sweet treats. That leaves the family’s hands free to greet farm visitors, where daughter and former teacher Jessica has set up a community hub offering farm experiences. Meet the pigs, alpacas, highland cows, and goats, and play in the park before taking a coffee out to enjoy in a bubble pod as you watch the workings of the farm and beautiful views over Lunan Bay. A memorable stop along the Angus Coastal Route. (Mud alert: wellies advised.)

Little girl with the goats at Upper Dysart Larder, Montrose

Pumpkins at Thorpe Farm Centre, Barnard Castle

There are plenty of family-friendly activities here: call ahead or check online to see what they have on the pumpkin front this year. Here’s what The Farm Shop Guide has to say about Thorpe Farm Centre. 

Handsome Thorpe Farm has been in the Barkes family since 1936. They transformed the courtyard buildings into a lively rural destination a few years ago. The farm shop is regularly raided by guests at the campsite alongside, who come for sumptuous fry-up ingredients, sun-downers, and groceries (plus the famed Sunday carvery). Local meat and fish bejewel the fridges, oven-ready meals await in the freezer for easy dinners, and alluring gifts fill the shelves. The café is abuzz with friendly chatter as people catch up over slices of oven-fresh cake, and crisp jacket potatoes. Explore the family’s wonderful legacy through their community woodland and wetland nature reserve; kids will love the animal paddocks too. Be sure to browse the treasure trove of a reclamation shop before departing. 

Pumpkins at Yolk Farm, Boroughbridge

No prizes for guessing that this place is known nationally for its eggs, but they also have pumpkins! Here’s what their feature in The Farm Shop Guide say about this fabulous, family-friendly, award-winning farm shop and restaurant.

As you’d expect with a name like Yolk, eggs are the order of the day here at Minskip Farm. Happy hens roam freely over a six-acre green paddock – alongside alpacas, pigs, and pygmy goats. This makes for delicious, perfectly poachable eggs, which you can try for yourself in the on-site café. Convinced? Buy a box to take home in the farm shop alongside market- garden vegetables, and meat from other happily reared animals. Most of the shop’s products come from within 30 miles. For a taste of the local terroir, you are in the right place: try the chicken pancakes with smoked bacon and maple syrup. Kids love the Yard@Yolk play barn (which has an admission charge) with its giant sand pit, and veggie growing and egg collecting stations. Check online for pumpkin and Halloween-related fun and games this year!

Pumpkins at Drewton's Farm Shop, South Cave

Pumpkins ahoy! The Yorkshire Wolds Way carves through chalk hills from the Humber estuary to the headland of Filey Brigg. Drewton’s Farm Shop is on the route, with sweeping views over this tranquil land. From this countryside springs a delicious crop of produce, which you can taste and take away in Drewton’s shop and café. The team supports the neighbouring farm community to keep food miles low. The meat in the butcher’s is Yorkshire bred, while the pheasant, partridge, and duck are from the Drewton Estate.

In the deli are sandwiches, nourishing salads, smooth pâtés, smoked fish, and mouth-watering ‘best of British’ cooked meats (the roast beef is a favourite). The café breakfasts and afternoon teas are legendary. If here in autumn, pick a plump favourite from the huge pumpkin patch. You’re on! 

Pumpkins at the pumpkin patch at Drewton's Farm

Pumpkins at Kenyon Hall Farm, Warrington

This place has its own entire Pumpkin Festival: now you’re talking. Owners Tod and Barbara took over Kenyon Hall Farm in 1978, and still get their hands dirty today. They are supported by their two sons and a friendly team who welcome visitors to the farm shop and café year-round, as well as to seasonal activities including an Easter Egg Hunt, PYO fruit, and a Pumpkin Festival. Open daily, the shop is always worth a stop, with much farm-grown produce. Some is turned into gins, jams, and preserves, and the honey comes from their hives. Provenance and limited food miles matter so the shop supports many North West producers. Stop in the newly extended café to enjoy smooth coffee, loaded brownies, and delicious home- cooked dishes overlooking the colourful blooms in the plant centre. Check online for Pumpkin Festival timings and all other information. 

Pumpkins at Darts Farm, nr Exeter

Darts is an award-winning food, drink, farming, and lifestyle destination created by Michael and James Dart. Their brother, Paul, runs the farm that has been at the heart of the business since the PYO began over 50 years ago. Their Ruby Red Devon cattle graze alongside, and crops rise in the fields beyond. The food hall brims with homegrown, seasonal, and artisan produce. Their own small-batch cider and sparkling and still wines from the vineyard are well worth sampling. The café and restaurants use the fields and food hall as their larder to create delicious dishes. Visit Darts’ chocolatier and gelateria or head to the flagship restaurant, The Farm Table, for a seasonal feast cooked over fire. If time, complete your day with a treatment at the Wellness Spa, hike the farm’s paths on foot, or cycle the Exe Estuary Trail. 

In autumn, check ahead for the Halloween, pumpkin, and other tasty (or indeed spooky!) happening down at Darts Farm, Devon. 

Pumpkins at Darts Farm Devon image (c) Matt Austin

Pumpkin carving ideas — and what to do with the leftovers

When carving your pumpkin this Halloween, make the most of every part of it. Here are some simple, waste-free ideas:

  • 🎃 Roast the seeds: toss them in olive oil, salt and paprika, and roast for a crunchy snack.

  • 🍲 Make soup: pumpkin flesh is perfect for creamy autumn soups with nutmeg and thyme.

  • 🥧 Bake a pie: or muffins, scones, or pumpkin bread: a great way to use up what’s left.

  • 🌱 Compost the shell: once your lantern has had its moment, add it to your compost heap.

  • 🐔 Feed wildlife: chopped pumpkin is a nutritious treat for birds, squirrels or chickens.

A taste of the season...and a reason to explore

The Farm Shop Guide celebrates farm-to-fork food all year round, but autumn is when Britain’s farm shops truly shine. From freshly pressed apple juice to hearty soups, home-baked cakes, and steaming cups of hot chocolate, you’ll find every reason to embrace the season in farm shops, farm shop cafés, and farms’ PYO fields across Britain. 

Each entry in the book features independent, hand-picked farm shops, many with their own cafés, local producers and events. Many are places that can turn food shopping into a day out for the whole family. Whether you’re in Cardiff, Cumbria or John o’Groats, there’s a pumpkin patch, apple orchard or farm café waiting to welcome you.

Make Halloween meaningful this year

Instead of buying imported pumpkins or plastic decorations, try celebrating Halloween the farm shop way this year. 

  • Pick your own pumpkin from a British farm.

  • Stay for a local meal or for a coffee and cake.

  • Meet the farmers who are growing your food.

  • Take home something delicious and home-grown.

  • Share your day out using the farm’s hashtags (and #extramilebooks if you’re feeling generous!) and support local, whatever the season. 

Thanks for reading, happy Halloween and if you find any farm shops or Halloween or pumpkin-related events near you that we should know about, spill the tea and let us know! 

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World Food Day: food with purpose

Rice paddy in Bali, Indonesia

Honouring World Food Day: food with purpose

Every 16 October, the world marks World Food Day: a moment to reflect, advocate, and act on the deeply human right to food, and on the systems that produce it. Established to commemorate the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, World Food Day is now observed in over 150 countries to promote global food security, sustainable agriculture, and diets that serve people and planet alike.

In 2025, the theme is: ‘Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future’, part of FAO’s 80th anniversary campaign (#FAO80). It underlines the urgency of transforming food systems through cooperation: between governments, farmers, civil society and consumers. 

For us, as compilers of The Farm Shop Guide, The Extra Mile Guide, and other foodie books with a conscience, World Food Day serves both as a reminder and a rallying cry: that food is more than flavour. It’s connection, equity, ecology, and respect for the people and land that grow it.

Why World Food Day matters to local food and British farming

  1. Food security is not abstract
    The global picture is stark: millions still lack reliable access to enough nutritious food. Climate change, supply chain shocks, inequality, conflict, and ecosystem damage all intensify this crisis. 

  2. Food systems are climate systems
    Farming, land use, transport, and waste account for a large share of greenhouse gas emissions. But they also hold solutions: regenerative agriculture, agroecology, and shorter supply chains to help reduce carbon, restore soils, and increase resilience.

  3. Local action feeds global impact
    Choosing seasonal, British produce, shopping at farm shops or independent cafés, and valuing small-scale farming: these things may seem local, but together they can help rebalance power, improve fairness, and reduce pressure on global supply chains.

  4. Stories and spotlighting matter
    Many farmers, activist groups and charities work year-round to protect soils, restore nature, support communities, and advocate for fairer farming policies. World Food Day gives them a global stage helps amplify their voices.

How your guidebook purchase can support change

  • A percentage of sales from our book, The Farm Shop Guide, goes to the Sustainable Food Trust, to support their work. 

  • The guide also features other food, farming, biodiversity, and wildlife-focused organisations, whose work strives to improve the situation for wildlife, food growing, and better food systems.

  • Reading and sharing these organisations’ stories helps build awareness, curiosity, and grassroots support: from consumers, farmers, and community groups.

  • When you buy our books it matters, when you shop locally it counts, and when you have conversations about fairer food systems and the charities working to protect and improve them, people listen. 

A woman in a field with fresh crops at Westerton Farm

What you can do this World Food Day

Here are some simple, meaningful actions readers and communities can take this World Food Day, and indeed throughout the season and the year. 

  1. Eat seasonally and locally
    Plan your meals around what’s fresh in your region. Visit farm shops or farmers’ markets rather than always defaulting to supermarkets. The Farm Shop Guide can help you find them. 

  2. Choose British or regional producers
    Every time you buy from a local supplier, you help strengthen their business, reduce food miles, and keep Britain’s farming heritage alive.

  3. Share the stories
    Post your activities on social media using #WorldFoodDay, #WorldFoodDay2025 #FoodHeroes, #FAO80, and tag your favourite farmers, local cafés, farm shops, or food charities.

  4. Host or join an event
    From a farm walk to a local talk, cooking demo, or roundtable, FAO encourages events like these as part of World Food Day. Find their useful comms support and toolkit here

  5. Support food and farming charities
    Donate or volunteer for organisations working on soil health, sustainable farming, food justice, or regenerative agriculture. You’ll find an abundance of them in The Farm Shop Guide, from Buglife, to RSPB Fair to Nature, to Pasture for Life, to LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).

  6. Reduce food waste
    Compost food scraps, plan meals, and use leftovers creatively. Such small steps multiply when many people join in.

Spotlighting food and farming charities

On this day of global focus, it’s fitting to highlight the organisations featured in our Farm Shop Guide: those whose work we value and whose stories we help carry. 

  • The Sustainable Food Trust

  • The Wildlife Trusts

  • LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming)

  • The Nature Friendly Farming Network

  • The Biodynamic Association

  • Buglife

  • The Farm Retail Association

  • RSPB Fair To Nature

  • The Permaculture Association

  • The Royal Countryside Fund

  • The Soil Association

  • OF&G Organic

  • Better Food Traders

  • Pasture For Life

Each organisation tackles different pieces of the food puzzle, from soil regeneration to wildlife, organic standards to retail innovation, biodiversity to local markets. By reading their stories in our guides, sharing them, and supporting the ideas they stand for, you help keep the pulse of better food systems strong.

Summary of World Food Day 2025

World Food Day is more than a date on the calendar. It’s a moment to reconnect with the fundamental truth, that food shapes our world, and our choices shape food systems.

By buying a guidebook with a conscience, reading and sharing stories of farmers, advocates and food heroes, choosing seasonal and local food, and supporting charities doing essential work, every individual can be part of the change.

Let this World Food Day be a turning point (or perhaps just a tiny veer that is the start of a new direction): for your plate, your region, and the future of food.

Image of girl with fresh produce (c) Ben's Farm Shop

Ready to support local and buy British farm food?

The Farm Shop Guide is your road-trip companion to some of the most ethical, delicious, and independently run food stops across Britain, from award-winning farm shops at regenerative farms to delis, cheesemongers, bakeries, honey farms, and more. 

Wherever you’re heading, there’s a better bite waiting nearby: one that supports the land, the farmers, and the future. 

Order your copy of The Farm Shop Guide today.  

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Coast and marine charities in The Coastal Café Guide

Whale tail in the ocean

Coastal cafés with a conscience: how The Coastal Café Guide supports a cleaner, wilder coastline

The Coastal Café Guide is a celebration of the places that make Britain’s shoreline so special. Think about the independent cafés tucked behind dunes, perched on harboursides, or tucked away in fishing villages. Within its pages you’ll find over 150 cafés and beach shacks serving freshly caught fish, home-baked cakes, and sea-view coffee with a conscience.

The book is also about something bigger than good food. It’s about caring for the coast itself: the sealife, wildlife, beaches, and people that bring these unique fringes of our island to life. A percentage of every copy sold is donated to Surfers Against Sewage, a charity whose work endeavours to protect our seas and communities from water pollution, plastic pollution, and climate change.

Alongside this, the book shines a light on 11 other inspiring charities and organisations that help protect the ocean, restore nature, and keep our coastlines wild and welcoming. They remind us that sustainable, local cafés and coastal conservation go hand in hand, for without thriving seas, there can be no thriving coastal communities.

Charities helping us protect and celebrate our seas and coasts

Alongside its donations to Surfers Against Sewage, a charity whose aims are outlined below, The Coastal Café Guide is proud to highlight the work of a network of like-minded charitable organisations that share a passion for cleaner coasts, more sustainable seafood, and safer waters.

Surfers Against Sewage

A grassroots movement turned national charity, Surfers Against Sewage campaigns to end sewage spills, reduce ocean plastic, and hold polluters to account. Their End Sewage Pollution campaign and Million Mile Clean bring thousands of volunteers together each year to restore Britain’s beaches and waterways. (Staff here attended one of their flagship events in 2025: our local Paddle Out Protest in Weston-super-Mare’s Marine Lake: part of a national day of activism.) 

RNLI

Since it was founded 200 years ago this year, the RNLI has saved tens of thousands lives at sea. Its crews of volunteer lifeboat heroes protect everyone who enjoys the coast, from surfers and swimmers to fisherfolk and sailors, while promoting water safety education in every coastal community.

Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) works to keep our seafood sustainable. The MSC blue label on fish and shellfish helps shoppers and chefs know that their meal has been responsibly caught, safeguarding marine life and fishing livelihoods for the future.


Marine Conservation Society

The Marine Conservation Society campaigns for cleaner seas and sustainable seafood. From beach cleans to citizen science and policy change, its work protects habitats, reduces pollution, and empowers people to take action for ocean health.

Outdoor Swimming Society

The Outdoor Swimming Society celebrates the joy and freedom of wild swimming. Its community of swim pioneers encourages safe, respectful and environmentally conscious dips in open water, connecting people deeply with the natural world.

The Ramblers, and the England Coast Path

The Ramblers are the guardians of walking routes across Britain. Their work on the England Coast Path, which will be the longest managed coastal trail in the world, ensures that everyone can explore, enjoy and protect our stunning shoreline.


South West Coast Path Association

The South West Coast Path Association maintains one of Britain’s most beloved trails, stretching 630 miles around the peninsula. Their volunteers care for paths, signage and landscapes that link so many of the cafés featured in The Coastal Café Guide.

The Wave Project

The Wave Project transforms young lives through surf therapy. By combining the power of the ocean with mentoring and community, it helps children and teenagers improve confidence, wellbeing and their connection to the sea.


The Finisterre Foundation

The Finisterre Foundation, created by the sustainable clothing brand Finisterre, supports grassroots ocean and coastal projects, from cold-water swimming initiatives to marine conservation and gear donation schemes for those in need.

John Muir Trust

Named after the pioneering conservationist, the John Muir Trust protects and restores wild places across the UK. Their education and rewilding projects inspire people to connect with the natural world and care for wild landscapes, coasts and mountains alike.

National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust for Scotland safeguards historic and natural sites, including many of the country’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. Its stewardship ensures that beaches, cliffs and islands remain places of inspiration and access for everyone.

Open Seas

Open Seas is concerned with protecting our marine environment and the things that live in it. They run campaigns and initiatives designed to see more fish and shellfish caught more sustainably, and they promote sustainable alternatives to damaging fishing.

City to Sea

The City to Sea movement tackles plastic pollution at its source. From refill schemes to reusable period products, they empower individuals and businesses to stop waste before it reaches rivers and oceans.

Buy The Coastal Café Guide: dive into these charities

Printslinger will donate 1% of book sales to Surfers Against Sewage. So whether buying a copy of The Coastal Café Guide for yourself or as a birthday or Christmas gift for someone who loves buying local food and supporting fairer food and fishing, know you’re giving a gift with a conscience. To learn more about this book and our other foodie titles, visit our online bookshop on the button below. 

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The Wildlife Trusts in The Farm Shop Guide

Baby hedgehog image to go with Wildlife Trusts information

Bringing nature back: The Wildlife Trusts in focus

At the heart of The Farm Shop Guide lies a simple idea: that food should be good for people, good for farmers, and good for the planet. This beautifully designed book celebrates the best farm shops, producers and food destinations across the UK – places where local food and sustainable farming come together.

But The Farm Shop Guide isn’t just about where to shop. It’s about supporting a better food system. That’s why a percentage of every book sold is donated to the Sustainable Food Trust, a pioneering charity working to make farming in Britain more regenerative, nature-friendly and fair for all.

The Wildlife Trusts' activities and campaigns

At The Farm Shop Guide, we believe that good food and good farming depend on a healthy, thriving natural world. That’s why in this post we turn the spotlight to The Wildlife Trusts. This group of charities makes up one of the most powerful and far-reaching networks in the UK working to restore, protect and reconnect nature.

The Farm Shop Guide is committed to showcasing their work, amplifying their voice, and helping readers understand just how central nature is to the food system.

The Wildlife Trusts are a federation of 46 independent local organisations across the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney, (beneath the umbrella of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts ). Collectively, they manage more than 2,600 nature reserves, amounting to nearly 98,500 ha of land dedicated to wildlife.

Strategic vision and campaigns

Their guiding strategy, Bringing Nature Back 2030, sets out an ambition to reverse biodiversity loss by combining local action with collective scale. Key elements of their work include restoring habitat connectivity, amplifying efforts across land and sea, and engaging communities as agents of change. 

One of their flagship projects is 30 Days Wild, a month-long annual challenge in June that invites people to do ‘one wild thing’ each day, whether that’s birdwatching, planting a wildflower, or simply listening to nightingales. In 2025, they’ve already used this ethos to prompt people to ‘move like wildlife’: walking, cycling, and dancing more in and with nature. 

Another high-profile moment in 2025 was National Marine Week, (which happened from 26 July to 10 August in 2025). This event celebrates the richness and vulnerability of the UK’s seas, from reefs to seagrasses, through local events and social media campaigns. 

The Wildlife Trusts are also pressing the government on policy fronts: for instance, The Wildlife Trusts have voiced concern over the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill, warning that current drafts risk weakening protections for habitats under restoration, especially peatlands and ancient woods.

The organisation argue that loopholes in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) proposals could undermine genuine nature recovery unless tightened. 

Land acquisitions and flagship projects

In 2024, The Wildlife Trusts made a landmark move by acquiring a large portion of the Rothbury estate in Northumberland: one of the biggest private land purchases in decades.  They intend to restore degraded lands, overlay regenerative farming, and open it to public access. This project could become a national showcase of nature-first land management, integrating wildlife recovery and sustainable agriculture.

Looking ahead to 2026

Between 2025 and 2030, The Wildlife Trusts aim to expand their ‘30 by 30‘ campaign (securing at least 30 % of land and sea for nature recovery) and scale up their habitat restoration efforts, especially in uplands, peatlands, rivers and marine zones.

We can expect stronger advocacy on land-use reforms, tighter planning protections for nature, and further growth of flagship projects like Rothbury.

For readers of The Farm Shop Guide, The Wildlife Trusts’ work is deeply relevant. Farmers and landowners are essential actors in landscape-scale nature recovery. For food production and farming to be truly sustainable, that is to say low in carbon and rich in biodiversity, we need farms and nature to be partners, not rivals. By promoting the work of The Wildlife Trusts, we hope more people see that connection.

Support The Wildlife Trusts today

To learn more about and to become a supporter or member of your local Wildlife Trust, which will have many programmes and projects for you to get involved with or volunteer on, visit The Wildlife Trusts today to get started. 

The Wildlife Trusts Gloucestershire magazine examples

Other food and farming charities in The Farm Shop Guide

Alongside its support for The Wildlife Trusts, The Farm Shop Guide proudly promotes a network of like-minded organisations that share a passion for sustainable farming, wildlife, soil health and local food.

The Sustainable Food Trust

A charity working globally and locally to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable food and farming systems.

Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF)

Encouraging integrated, practical approaches to farming that balance productivity with care for the environment.

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN)

Uniting farmers who show that profitable food production and thriving biodiversity can go hand in hand.

The Biodynamic Association

Championing holistic farming rooted in ecology, soil health and respect for natural rhythms.

Buglife

Protecting pollinators and other vital insects essential to healthy food systems and biodiversity.

The Farm Retail Association (FRA)

Supporting Britain’s farm shops, farmers’ markets and pick-your-own businesses – the backbone of local food.

RSPB Fair to Nature

Recognising farms that deliver for wildlife through sustainable and biodiversity-friendly practices.

The Permaculture Association

Promoting design systems for sustainable living and regenerative food production.

The Royal Countryside Fund

Founded by HM King Charles III to support rural communities, family farms and a thriving countryside.

The Soil Association

Leading the movement for organic food, healthy soil and better animal welfare.

OF&G Organic

Certifying organic farmers and growers to ensure integrity and transparency in food production.

Better Food Traders

Connecting ethical food retailers and encouraging short, fair and climate-friendly supply chains.

Pasture for Life

Supporting farms that raise animals entirely on grass for better flavour, welfare and environmental impact.

A guidebook for people who want fairer food systems

Printslinger will donate 1% of book sales of The Farm Shop Guide to the Sustainable Food Trust. So whether buying a copy of The Farm Shop Guide for yourself or as a birthday or Christmas gift for someone who loves buying local food and supporting fairer food and farming, The Farm Shop Guide will not let you down. To learn more about this book and our other foodie titles, visit our online bookshop on the button below. 

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The Sustainable Food Trust

The Sustainable Food Trust Logo

How The Farm Shop Guide supports the Sustainable Food Trust and champions better British food

At the heart of The Farm Shop Guide lies a simple idea: that food should be good for people, good for farmers, and good for the planet. This beautifully designed book celebrates the best farm shops, producers and food destinations across the UK – places where local food and sustainable farming come together.

But The Farm Shop Guide isn’t just about where to shop. It’s about supporting a better food system. That’s why a percentage of every book sold is donated to the Sustainable Food Trust, a pioneering charity working to make farming in Britain more regenerative, nature-friendly and fair for all.

The Sustainable Food Trust: building a better food system

The Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) works globally and in the UK to accelerate the shift toward farming systems that are regenerative, equitable and nature-friendly. 

Key programmes and campaigns

  • Sustainable livestock: SFT campaigns for livestock to be managed as part of regenerative mixed farming systems, not in isolation. It advocates for higher welfare, lower emissions, and integration with soil and biodiversity goals.

  • True-cost accounting: one of their flagship ideas is to make visible the hidden ‘external costs’ of food (e.g. pollution, biodiversity loss, health impacts), so that sustainable farms are rewarded rather than penalised. 

  • Local abattoirs and shorter supply chains: they have long campaigned for supporting small, regional abattoirs and infrastructure, knowing that local butchery capacity is essential for truly local food systems.

  • Beacon Farms network: SFT runs a Beacon Farms initiative. This is a network of exemplar farms that demonstrate regenerative and sustainable practices, which act as live teaching sites and showcases.

  • Feeding Britain: this SFT programme explores how we could transform what we farm and eat, to improve health, support nature, reduce emissions and bolster food security.

Recent insight and thought leadership

In late 2024, Patrick Holden (SFT’s founder) published a reflective piece on the future of farming under evolving political pressures, emphasising the tension between what farmers can change and what policy constrains. The SFT also regularly publishes research, commentary, and podcasts on pressing topics in food systems. 

Listen to SFT podcasts here

Looking toward 2026 and beyond

Looking to 2026 and beyond, the SFT’s core work in sustainable livestock, measuring sustainability, true cost accounting, and local systems is set to continue, with a focus on the Beacon Farms network, stronger policy advocacy, and further public communication campaigns. Their work on local abattoirs remains timely, especially as infrastructure pressures grow. 

By buying The Farm Shop Guide, readers play a part in this ambition. Your support helps underpin research, advocacy, and farm-scale demonstration projects that show what a healthier, fairer food system can look like.

Celebrating others doing good work

Alongside its support for the Sustainable Food Trust, The Farm Shop Guide proudly promotes a network of like-minded organisations that share a passion for sustainable farming, wildlife, soil health and local food.

The Wildlife Trusts

Protecting nature across the UK, working with farmers to create wildlife-friendly habitats and thriving landscapes.

Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF)

Encouraging integrated, practical approaches to farming that balance productivity with care for the environment.

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN)

Uniting farmers who show that profitable food production and thriving biodiversity can go hand in hand.

The Biodynamic Association

Championing holistic farming rooted in ecology, soil health and respect for natural rhythms.

Buglife

Protecting pollinators and other vital insects essential to healthy food systems and biodiversity.

The Farm Retail Association (FRA)

Supporting Britain’s farm shops, farmers’ markets and pick-your-own businesses – the backbone of local food.

RSPB Fair to Nature

Recognising farms that deliver for wildlife through sustainable and biodiversity-friendly practices.

The Permaculture Association

Promoting design systems for sustainable living and regenerative food production.

The Royal Countryside Fund

Founded by HM King Charles III to support rural communities, family farms and a thriving countryside.

The Soil Association

Leading the movement for organic food, healthy soil and better animal welfare.

OF&G Organic

Certifying organic farmers and growers to ensure integrity and transparency in food production.

Better Food Traders

Connecting ethical food retailers and encouraging short, fair and climate-friendly supply chains.

Pasture for Life

Supporting farms that raise animals entirely on grass for better flavour, welfare and environmental impact.

A guidebook for people who want fairer food systems

Printslinger will donate 1% of book sales to the SFT. So whether buying a copy of The Farm Shop Guide for yourself or as a birthday or Christmas gift for someone who loves buying local food and supporting fairer food and farming, The Farm Shop Guide will not let you down. To learn more about this book and our other foodie titles, visit our online bookshop on the button below. 

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Meet the nation’s food and farming charities

Young boy holding potato at a British farm

Good food + good farming = a better future

As we celebrate British Food Fortnight 2025, there’s no better time to champion the people and places behind Britain’s best food. The Farm Shop Guide does exactly that, with its beautifully designed celebration of farm-to-fork food, local producers, and the communities keeping sustainable British farming alive.

But this book goes further. With every copy sold, a donation is made to the Sustainable Food Trust, and its readers are introduced to a range of like-minded organisations working for wildlife, soil health, fair farming and a resilient countryside. It’s a guidebook with a good heart, connecting readers not only to great local food, but to the values that make it possible.

Below are some of the organisations that The Farm Shop Guide proudly promotes – and the reasons they’re such a vital part of Britain’s good food story.


The Sustainable Food Trust – building a better food system

At the centre of The Farm Shop Guide’s giving is the Sustainable Food Trust. This pioneering charity works globally and locally to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable food and farming systems. From advocating for soil-friendly practices to encouraging true cost accounting in agriculture, their work inspires everything The Farm Shop Guide stands for: food that nourishes people, protects the planet and supports farmers fairly.


The Wildlife Trusts – farming for nature

The Wildlife Trusts protect and restore nature across the UK, often working hand in hand with farmers to make land management more wildlife-friendly. Their campaigns for hedgerows, pollinators and natural habitats echo the values behind Britain’s best farm shops – places where biodiversity thrives alongside good food.


LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) – smart, sustainable farming

LEAF champions integrated farm management, a balanced approach that helps farmers produce high-quality food while caring for the environment. LEAF’s work bridges the gap between science, farming and the public – much like The Farm Shop Guide connects customers with producers who farm with care and purpose.


The Nature Friendly Farming Network – voices for change

The Nature Friendly Farming Network brings together farmers who are proving that profitable farming and thriving nature can go hand in hand. By promoting their work, The Farm Shop Guide celebrates those at the grassroots of change: the farmers rewilding corners of their fields, planting hedges, and showing how good food and good stewardship belong together.


The Biodynamic Association – holistic farming in harmony

The Biodynamic Association promotes an approach to farming that’s rooted in ecology, soil health and respect for natural cycles. Their philosophy aligns beautifully with The Farm Shop Guide’s ethos: food grown slowly, mindfully, and in rhythm with the land.


Buglife – protecting the small but mighty

Pollinators are the unsung heroes of our food system, and Buglife is their champion. From bees and beetles to butterflies, Buglife’s work ensures that the insects vital to pollination and soil fertility continue to thrive – without them, our farm shops’ shelves would soon be bare.


The Farm Retail Association (FRA) – supporting local food heroes

The Farm Retail Association represents farm shops, farmers’ markets and pick-your-own businesses across the UK – the very places celebrated in The Farm Shop Guide. By showcasing this organisation, the book gives back to the community that fills its pages: independent retailers who connect consumers directly with British farmers and home-grown food.


RSPB Fair to Nature – food for wildlife and people

The Fair to Nature scheme, managed by the RSPB, recognises farms that go above and beyond for wildlife. Its certification helps shoppers choose products from farms where birds, bees and biodiversity are thriving. It’s exactly the kind of farming that The Farm Shop Guide seeks to highlight: where every purchase helps nature as well as people.


The Permaculture Association – designing for sustainability

The Permaculture Association promotes design systems for living and growing sustainably: principles that underpin many of Britain’s best regenerative farms. Their work helps create a resilient food system where resources are reused, waste is minimised, and communities flourish.


The Royal Countryside Fund – keeping rural Britain thriving

Founded by HM King Charles III, the Royal Countryside Fund supports rural communities and family farms. By helping farmers build business resilience and by funding local initiatives, it ensures the countryside remains a vibrant place to live and work: something many readers of The Farm Shop Guide values deeply.


The Soil Association – championing organic food

The Soil Association has long been the voice for organic farming in the UK. Their campaigns for healthy soil, good animal welfare and climate-friendly food reflect everything The Farm Shop Guide celebrates: transparency, trust, and taste rooted in the earth.


OF&G Organic – certifying with integrity

OF&G (Organic Farmers & Growers) certifies organic food and farming businesses with an emphasis on integrity and sustainability. Including their work in The Farm Shop Guide recognises the vital role certification plays in helping consumers trust where their food comes from.


Better Food Traders – fairer food for all

The Better Food Traders network connects ethical food retailers who champion fair prices, short supply chains, and climate-conscious practices. The Farm Shop Guide shares their mission – to make good food accessible, local and fair.


Pasture For Life – meat you can trust

The Pasture for Life movement certifies farms that raise animals entirely on grass and pasture. The result is meat that’s better for animals, farmers, people and the planet. It’s a story of integrity, and is one that The Farm Shop Guide is proud to share.


A guidebook with a conscience

At a time when many of us want to shop more responsibly and eat more locally, The Farm Shop Guide offers inspiration and direction – showing that every purchase can be an act of care. By donating to the Sustainable Food Trust and highlighting the work of these other inspiring organisations, the book helps ensure that British farms are promoted, helping them to thrive and continue to grow food in a way that’s kind to people, animals and the planet.

So this British Food Fortnight (and beyond), go the extra mile: buy British, visit your local farm shop, and choose food that supports a better future for all.

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Celebrate British Food Fortnight

Farmers with a cart load of British farm food for British Food Fortnight

The best in home-grown British food

Every autumn, British Food Fortnight shines a well-deserved spotlight on the incredible bounty grown, reared, and produced across the UK. It’s a joyful two weeks of celebrating home-grown food, supporting British farmers, and reconnecting with the land that sustains us. For anyone passionate about sustainability, low-food-miles produce and discovering local flavours, this is the perfect time to explore your nearest farm shop, taste the best of British, and buy food that truly supports our countryside.

If you’ve ever wanted to eat more seasonally, reduce your carbon footprint, and enjoy fresher, more flavourful ingredients, British Food Fortnight is your invitation to do just that.


What is British Food Fortnight?

British Food Fortnight is the nation’s biggest celebration of British produce, organised by Love British Food. It typically runs for two weeks in late September and early October, coinciding with harvest season: a fitting moment to celebrate the richness of the British countryside.

Now running for over 20 years, the event brings together farmers, food producers, farm shops, restaurants, schools, and communities to champion home-grown food. The idea is simple: to remind us all of the value of buying British. This is not only for taste and freshness but also for the health of our planet and our rural economies.

At its heart, the campaign encourages people to choose local: to seek out British ingredients in shops, to dine at restaurants that source from nearby farms, and to support producers who care deeply about the land.


Where it’s happening

The beauty of British Food Fortnight is that it happens everywhere, from small rural villages to bustling cities. You’ll find events in farm shops, markets, pubs, and schools across the country. Many local councils and community groups get involved too, hosting food festivals, tasting sessions, cookery demos, and farm tours.

Farm shops are often at the centre of the celebration. Many places host tastings of seasonal produce, cheese and cider pairings, pick-your-own fruit days, and family-friendly events that showcase the stories behind local food.

You can find participating businesses on the Love British Food website or simply ask your local farm shop if they’re taking part. (Chances are, they’ll be delighted to tell you all about their latest harvest!)


Why buy British?

Choosing British food isn’t just patriotic. It’s practical, sustainable, and delicious (as the 150+ places in our own The Farm Shop Guide will attest!).

Here’s why buying British matters:

  • Fewer food miles: Home-grown food travels shorter distances meaning it’s fresher, tastier, and has a smaller carbon footprint.

  • Support for local farms: Every pound spent at a farm shop or local market goes back into the community, helping family-run farms thrive and keeping rural communities alive.

  • Better animal welfare: British farmers are recognised for maintaining some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world.

  • Seasonal eating: Buying British means eating with the seasons — crisp apples in autumn, plump asparagus in spring, and juicy strawberries in summer.

  • A stronger rural economy: Supporting British producers keeps the countryside alive and working, preserving traditional skills and landscapes.

It’s a simple equation: buying British food sustains British farms.


How to get involved

There are so many easy, rewarding ways to take part in British Food Fortnight:

  1. Visit your local farm shop: Discover fresh produce straight from nearby fields. Many farm shops offer local cheeses, chutneys, breads, and meats you won’t find in supermarkets.

  2. Cook a British meal: Plan a dinner around seasonal British ingredients. Think roast root vegetables, local lamb, or apple crumble with fruit from a nearby orchard.

  3. Join an event: Look out for community feasts, farmers’ markets or open farm days near you.

  4. Share on social media: Tag your finds with #LoveBritishFood or #BuyBritish and help spread the message.

  5. Give the gift of local food: A hamper of farm shop favourites makes the perfect present for food lovers.


Discover more with The Farm Shop Guide

If British Food Fortnight leaves you hungry for more, The Farm Shop Guide is your ultimate companion. This beautifully crafted book from Extra Mile Books showcases the best farm-to-fork destinations across the UK, from hidden rural gems to coastal farm shops and market cafés.

Every entry celebrates the people behind the produce (the farmers, bakers, butchers, and growers) who are all committed to sustainability and high-quality, low-food-miles food. Whether you’re planning a countryside trip or simply looking for a more ethical way to shop, The Farm Shop Guide helps you discover where your food really comes from.

It’s not just a directory; it’s an invitation to live more locally, gently, and deliciously.


A celebration that lasts all year

While British Food Fortnight may officially last two weeks, its spirit can carry on throughout the year. Every time you buy from a local farm shop, choose British butter over imported brands, or visit a pick-your-own orchard, you’re celebrating what makes our countryside so special.

Supporting British farmers is about more than food. It’s about community, sustainability, and a shared respect for the land. So this British Food Fortnight, go the extra mile: discover your nearest farm shop, fill your basket with local goodness, and take a bite of Britain at its best.

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Coastal Paths in Britain: where to start?

Welsh Coast Path sign, Mike Erskine

10 coastal paths around the country

Many of your journeys around and across Britain are to visit the coast, from Cornwall to Caithness. Read on to discover ten of our island’s finest coastal paths and walks: perhaps you might then be the one to write the next coast-path bestseller… If you discover any must-see cafés on your adventures, do let us know for the next edition of our Coastal Café Guide.

1. South West Coast Path (England)

  • Length: 630 miles 
  • Route: Minehead (Somerset) to Poole Harbour (Dorset) 
  • Highlights: England’s longest National Trail, offering dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and charming fishing villages. 
  • Recommended guidebook: Walking the South West Coast Path by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone Press) 
South West Coast Path Image by Jonathan Taylor

2. Pembrokeshire Coast Path (Wales)

  • Length: 186 miles 
  • Route: St Dogmaels to Amroth 
  • Highlights: Traverses the UK’s only coastal national park, featuring rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, and diverse wildlife. 
  • Get started: The Pembrokeshire Coast Path by Dennis Kelsall (Cicerone Press)  

3. Causeway Coast Way (Northern Ireland)

  • Length: 33 miles 
  • Route: Portstewart to Ballycastle 
  • Highlights: Showcases the UNESCO-listed Giant’s Causeway, dramatic cliffs, and historic castles. 
  • A classic guidebook: Causeway Coast Way by Eoin Reilly (Rucksack Readers) 

4. Fife Coastal Path (Scotland)

  • Length: 117 miles 
  • Route: Kincardine to Newburgh 
  • Highlights: Passes through picturesque fishing villages, sandy beaches, and historic sites. 
  • A guidebook to consider: Fife Coastal Path by Sandra Bardwell and Jacquetta Megarry (Rucksack Readers)

5. Norfolk Coast Path (England)

  • Length: 84 miles 
  • Route: Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea 
  • Highlights: Features expansive beaches, salt marshes, and nature reserves. 
  • For inspiration, see: Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path by Bruce Robinson (Cicerone Press)
Cromer, on the Norfolk Way Coast Path

6. Arran Coastal Way (Scotland)

  • Length: 65 miles 
  • Route: Circular route around the Isle of Arran 
  • Highlights: Encircles the Isle of Arran, offering diverse landscapes from rugged cliffs to sandy shores. 
  • A guidebook to consider: Arran Coastal Way by Jacquetta Megarry (Rucksack Readers)  

7. Ceredigion Coast Path (Wales)

  • Length: 65 miles 
  • Route: Cardigan to Ynyslas 
  • Highlights: Offers stunning views of Cardigan Bay, opportunities to spot dolphins, and access to quaint coastal towns. 
  • Get a flavour: Walking the Ceredigion Coast Path by Liz Allan (Kittiwake Books)
Llangrannog, on the Ceredigion Coast Path

8. Gower and Swansea Bay Coast Path (Wales)

  • Length: 97 miles 
  • Route: Loughor to Kenfig Dunes 
  • Highlights: Traverses the Gower Peninsula, the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, featuring dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and rich biodiversity. 
  • Have a peek into: Official Guide: Carmarthen Bay & Gower (Wales Coast Path)

9. South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path (Wales)

  • Length: 109 miles 
  • Route: Kenfig to Chepstow 
  • Highlights: Offers varied landscapes, from industrial heritage sites to natural reserves, and connects with the Offa’s Dyke Path at Chepstow. 
  • Find inspiration: Top 10 Walks: Wales Coast Path – South Wales Coast (The Trails Shop) 

10.Tarka Trail (England)

  • Length: 180 miles (figure-of-eight route) 
  • Route: Barnstaple to Meeth and back via various towns 
  • Highlights: Inspired by the novel Tarka the Otter, this trail combines coastal and inland paths, offering diverse scenery and wildlife. 
  • A walking, cycling, wheeling guide: The Tarka Trail Guide, by tarkatrailguide.co.uk.

Choose your path and walk it well

You could spend a lifetime walking the coasts of Great Britain, though for many the reality is the odd week and some memorable long weekends here and there. Wherever you go and however you get there, do keep your palate peeled for lovely new cafés that pop up at the roadsides you pass and the coast paths you cover, and let us know for the next editions of our café and local food guides. 

Check out our three best-selling foodie guidebooks below, with The Coastal Café Guide perhaps being the best suited to fuelling your fun around the edges of our island this year. Good luck, happy trails, and bon appetit.  

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English Wineries to Visit in English Wine Week

Self-guided wine tour image from Langham Wine Estate

A high-quality quartet of wineries across England

Celebrate English Wine Week with a visit to your closest winery (easier if you live in the southern half of the island but not impossible if you live towards the north!). Whether you’re a seasoned wine lover or simply looking for unique day-out ideas, English Wine Week is the perfect time to discover the vineyards, cellar doors, and farm shops championing English wine.

Featuring many award-winning locations, The Extra Mile Guide is your trusted companion for finding independent food and drink stops just off your beaten track. If you’re searching for English Wine Week inspiration, our guidebook has a few local numbers and artisan vineyards up its sleeve, alongside family-run delis, and off-motorway pit-stops where you can sip and savour your way through the week.

It’s going to be another long hot weekend: pen in your visits, tours and tastings now and stay cool in the sunshine. 

1. Heron Farm Vineyard, Honiton, Devon

There’s so much to say about Heron Farm Vineyard that we almost need to drop the little joining words altogether and just line all the award-winning nouns and wines up, end-to-end.

Magic happens in this Grand Designs building encircled by acres of working farm. It’s not all about the accolade-soaked wines, either, though the Solaris and Pinot Noir grapes thrive in their Devon soil. The farm and gift shop is lovely and the vineyard café excels with fresh kitchen-garden-to-table dishes, from curried pollock to cauliflower steak, often garnished with bright flowers. Sheep wander, the walled gardens delight and a Vineyard Walk weaves through the orchard, Fairy Gardens and some of the 3,000 vines.

First-time visitors (drawn by the added bonus of several EV chargers) often return with time on their hands and room in their boots for local gin and rum as well as vino. Plan your own first trip, tour or tasting and explore the pretty market town of Honiton afterwards.

Website for Heron Farm here

Heron Farm restaurant and shop image

2. Darts Farm, Topsham, nr Exeter

Darts Farm, on the Exe estuary, is a vibrant farming, shopping and eating hub. Links to the soil are strong with the family’s Ruby Red Devon cattle grazing on the river banks nearby. Reconnect with nature by visiting the animals, following the farm walk or spotting wildlife from the wetlands bird hide.

A highlight of a visit to Darts Farm is their Pebblebed Vineyards; head online to learn about their tours and tasting which run throughout summer until September (generally Thursdays and Saturdays, check and book ahead). 

Darts’ food hall brims with locally reared, caught or made goodies: seasonal produce from the farm and vineyard, deli goods like British farmhouse cheese and West Country essentials from the region’s food and drink artisans. The butchery is the quiet star of this show (though the bean-to-bar chocolate and homemade gelato of in-house chocolatier, Cow & Cacao, is catching up).

Follow the fresh-ground coffee aroma to the eateries, whose indoor and outdoor tables maximise the views. Expect Devon cream teas and delicious meals, from pan-fried sea bass to charcuterie platters. The Farm Table works its magic over the flames, The Fish Shed does great fish and chips and The Shack makes a mean steak sandwich.

Visit Darts Farm online here

3. Langham Wine Estate

The Langham Wine Estate is a wall-to-wall, grape to glass delight. Not content with being an international sparkling wine producer of the year award winner – take a bottle of the Pinot Meunier Extra Brut home – the winery also has a rustic café and outdoor pizza kitchen.

Walk-ins are welcome, though book online in summer to secure a spot in the café or hay-stacked barn, or at a bench amongst the vines and pretty hedgerows. Sharing and seafood platters are piled high with bright delicacies, and local ales and ciders join the homegrown wines on the menu. The Portland crab open focaccia is fab, the soft cheese soaked in Kalamata olive brine a salty speciality, and the Dorset posh ploughman’s a window into local fruits and flavours.

Feast your eyes on the grape-filled greenery with a guided tour, opt for the self-guided walking tour with a wine tasting flight, or enjoy your pre-ordered picnic within the satisfying symmetry of the vineyard.

Visit Langham Wine Estate online

Self-guided wine tour image from Langham Wine Estate
Langham Wine Estate Bistro

4. Squerrys Estate, Westerham, Kent

Squerryes’ family motto means ‘it’s permitted to be joyful’. Joy isn’t merely permitted at this 2,500-acre North Downs estate – gateway to the Garden of England – it’s inescapable. Squerryes has been creating magic for nearly 300 years and bottling it (in the form of sparkling wine) for a good while, too.

Take a table at the estate’s seasonal and sustainable Winery Restaurant next to veritable walls of wine; relax beneath broad parasols in the Garden Café overlooking the rosé vineyard; or plunder the deli’s bountiful larder whose cheese counter is curated by Neal’s Yard, London. Scoop into a creamy Kent blue for a peppery taste of the region.

After a vineyard walk, refill that energy gap with a coffee and light Portuguese tart, as the wine aficionados survey the Cellar Door’s pyramids of home-grown wine. In Westerham, next door, you can learn about the region’s brewing heritage or head south to Winston Churchill’s former home, Chartwell (National Trust), to appreciate its art collection and formal rose garden.

Visit Squerry’s Estate online

Squerrys vines, Westerham, Kent

Love a winery-based detour? You'll love our guide

To help you find memorable places to stop just off motorway junctions or while on the road exploring Britain, try The Extra Mile Guide (or our sibling titles, The Farm Shop Guide and The Coastal Café Guide). Packed with hundreds of memorable places to stop, eat and enjoy British food and drink (and wine), the guides will help you plan far more interesting journeys. Browse our books here.  

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11 ethical coffee roasters

Image of coffee beans and grounds

11 ethical coffee roasters in Britain

We love coffee as much as you do so we’ve compiled this list of Britain’s browse-worthy ethical roasteries. The following roasters have made our list for they all sell direct to the public, many offer coffee subscriptions, and all take their environmental and sustainability responsibilities seriously. They also practise fair or direct‑trade and do their best to support the all-important coffee bean growers themselves. Brew on, baristas…

1. Pure Roasters Coffee, Glasgow

This ethical speciality roaster is based in Glasgow. They source sustainable beans and offer flexible subscription deliveries across the UK.

☕ Website: pureroasters.com 
Instagram/X: @pureroasters 

Coffee beans

2. Dear Green Coffee Roasters, Glasgow

This Glasgow roastery is B-Corp certified. A direct‑trade roaster, they source responsibly and reinvest in grower communities. Dear Green offers single‑origin and organic blends online, both to  trade and to the lucky public.
 

☕ Website: deargreencoffee.com
Instagram: @deargreen

3. Blue Coffee Box

Blue Coffee Box offers a letterbox‑friendly ethical coffee subscription, spotlighting small-holder growers worldwide. This is the choice for adventurous drinkers seeking traceability and variety.

☕ Website: bluecoffeebox.com
Instagram: @bluecoffeebox

4. Mont58 Coffee, London

Mont58 is an award‑winning South‑East London roaster specialising in fair‑trade Arabica and compostable packaging. Their subscription service offers excellent value. 

☕ Website: mont58coffee.com
Instagram: @mont58coffee

5. Origin Coffee Roasters, Cornwall

This B -Corp certified Cornish roastery runs along very sustainable lines, with traceable beans and a strong online subscription programme. They are known for championing their farmers and producers.

☕ Website
: origincoffee.co.uk
☕ Instagram: @origincoffeeroasters

Coffee machine handles with coffee beans, grounds, and frothed milk

6. Coaltown Coffee Roasters, Wales

This South‑Wales B-Corp has transparent direct‑trade sourcing, award‑winning beans and equipment, and a UK‑wide subscription service. We also found Coaltown Coffee served at many of the excellent independent cafés and coffee shops we loved in Wales. 

Website
: coaltowncoffee.co.uk
Instagram: @coaltowncoffee

7. Black Mountain Roast, Hay-on-Wye

This foot‑o‑the-mountains roaster in Hay‑on‑Wye offers bi‑weekly or monthly coffee subscriptions. Their award-winning blends come in compostable bags. Waste not, want not, drink more coffee! 

Website: blackmountainroast.com
Instagram: @blackmountainroast

Creamy coffee with beans and coffee grounds around

8. Wrexham Bean Co, Wrexham

A North‑Wales speciality roaster that celebrates local art and plants a tree per subscription purchased. Not just a pretty coffee! For those seeking a coffee subscription, it offers weekly to monthly delivery.

Website: wrexhambean.com 
 Instagram: @wrexhambean

9. Pact Coffee, London

This London‑based B-Corp has been a pioneer of direct‑trade specialty subscriptions since 2012. Pact offers a roast‑to‑door service and beans that come bedecked with great‑taste awards.

Website: pactcoffee.com
Instagram: @pactcoffee

Unorthodox Roasters, Kinross, image of barrista

10. Unorthodox Roasters, Kinross

A firm favourite in this home office (and as pictured above), Unorthodox Roasters feature in our independent café guide, The Extra Mile Guide: Alternatives to Motorway Services. They also happen to roast their own beans and offer a coffee subscription (which reminds us, it really is time to order some more).

Website: www.unorthodoxroasters.co.uk
Instagram: @unorthodoxroasters

11. Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, East London

This East‑London craft roastery was founded in 2001. Union offers its CoffeeClub subscription, sells in supermarkets, and maintains great artisan values throughout the process. Taste the craft in every cup with Union. 

Website: unionroasted.com
Instagram: @unionroasted

Making you want to drink better coffee?

Try a new coffee subscription from one of the suggestions above, or get your own copy of The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services to keep in your glovebox. Packed with almost 300 ideas for local, just-off-the-junctions places to eat and drink, the guide also bursts with independent cafés and coffee shops, whose baristas are just waiting to create you a delicious cup using fresh and locally roasted beans. Happy re-caffeinating and book browsing…

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The passion behind our Farm Shop Guide

Girl with dreadlocks reading The Farm Shop Guide

Introducing: The Farm Shop Guide

Eleanor Weeks-Bell is the compiler of 2024’s Amazon bestseller, The Farm Shop Guide (a book featured in Waitrose Weekend, Times Weekend and more). Here’s her introduction to The Farm Shop Guide, to give you a feel for what it and we at Extra Mile Books are all about. Ele, over to you…

“Why buy flavourless, pre-packaged food that has been shipped thousands of miles when you can get the most deliciously fresh and toothsome produce direct from the field down the road? Starting in Scotland and running from North to South and West to East – to end in Kent, the fertile garden of England – this guide is a celebration of Britain’s growers and producers and their farm shops, cafés, and restaurants.

Family-run farms and more

You’ll find everything from traditional rustic barns to contemporary vending machines, run by all types of people from experienced farming families who have lovingly tilled the soils for generations, to community-owned or charity-led farms that provide opportunities for people to learn new skills and to improve their wellbeing. There are over 1,500 farm shops in Britain and this first edition of The Farm Shop Guide features over 160 of our favourites.

From rural to urban settings and from small and quirky to large and established places, this book reflects the fantastic diversity of Britain’s farms and farm shops. Read on to discover specialists of all varieties of vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, honey, cider, wine, and flowers, and the wonderful cafés, restaurants, and delis where you can sample this bounty in situ.

From children’s play parks to PYO

You’ll unearth memorable places with wildlife trails, pick-your-own (PYO) fields, children’s play parks, and animal petting farms, plus farms that run their own events, courses, and workshops. As well as reducing food miles, many of the farms you’re about to meet are fully invested in protecting and the natural environment through regenerative and nature-friendly farming.

There are farms that are planting hectares of hedgerows, wildflower meadows, and trees; raising rare breeds to the highest welfare standards; working to organic principles; reducing their energy use through wind and solar power and other measures; and those earning certification from bodies such as Pasture for Life, RSPB Fair to Nature, and the Soil Association.

While researching this book we’ve come to know and love some incredible farmers and producers. Working all hours, their resilience keeps them ploughing on in the face of increased costs, staff shortages, capricious weather systems, and the stranglehold of supermarkets on the farming community. These people are all passionate about growing good food well and championing the very best in seasonal local produce.

Connect with where your food comes from

By visiting the places in this guide, you are supporting these committed custodians of our land while benefiting from eating delicious, nutritious fresh food. You’ll feel more connected to where your food comes from…and can even top up the wellbeing tank by spending time in nature or petting a baby goat! We hope this book inspires and accompanies you on many new adventures across farm and field.”

Eleanor Weeks-Bell, Compiler of The Farm Shop Guide

Sound like your kind of book?

If our ethos resonates with you, we have a sneaking suspicion that you might enjoy The Farm Shop Guide, or its sibling books The Coastal Café Guide (which does what it says on the tin) or The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services. Hit the image or button below to browse our current guides, and do let us know if you find any favourites that we’ve yet to stumble upon.




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