Inspiration

Our favourite Cotswolds farm shops for fantastic local produce

Sawday's Expert

5 min read

One of the many joys of spending time in the Cotswolds is the food, and even with the profusion of fine restaurants and country pubs, there’s something about the open countryside that calls out for a picnic. Fortunately, all those great places to eat exist because they’re drawing on superb local produce, which you can find at a wealth of farm shops and delis. We asked our owners and nosed around in our own Cotswold diaries to pick out just a few of our personal favourites from what could have been a belt-busting list.

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The Cotswolds

North Nibley

After the village shop closed down, having been let to tenants for years, the people of North Nibley and the surrounding area banded together in a project that saw it rise from the ashes as North Nibley Community Hub, in 2019. It’s now a coffee shop, information point, internet café (there’s a laptop people can use) and, of course, all the great produce from farmers, butchers and makers nearby. It’s taken a colossal effort from volunteers, local business and various organisations, but it’s a rousing testament to what a community can achieve. And the best thing is, you can support them just by dropping in for cake.

Recommended by Deborah, owner of Forthay

Jolly Nice Farm Shop, Stroud

Stroud is generally a great place to head to if you’re after a taste of the Cotswolds, and the Jolly Nice Farm Shop, run by a third-generation local family, is a bustling showcase of everything the area has to nibble on. All their meals and takeaway food are made from scratch, including superb ice cream using the milk of cows that live just over the fence. A team of three has grown to over 50 and now employs florists, baristas and artisans of every stripe.

Recommended by Dan and Ali, owners of Hornstone Cottage

Worton Kitchen Garden

What started as a small community kitchen garden in 2005 has mushroomed (and orcharded and saladed) into a rambling mass of polytunnels, trees and beds in which an enormous amount of produce is grown. The shop only opens from Wednesday to Sunday, which was an extension to the original hours made so that people didn’t have to queue in the cold! You’ll be able to pick up some fabulous stuff to take away but if you book a table you can eat in too, choosing from a menu which amounts to a mere handful of food miles even if you ate everything on it.

Cellar Door Shop, Woodchester Vineyard

Well, this might not be a farm shop as such, but you’ll be wanting something to wash all the rest of it down with, so here’s a fantastic little winery in the Cotswolds and a distinctive spot where you can drop in and sample some of the produce. The shop in Woodchester was once an engineering works and before that munitions factory. The result of that long journey from bullets to bottles is an unusual space, selling the rose, white and sparkling wines that the owners have been producing to award-winning reception since starting out in 2007.

Recommended by Gail owner of Woodchester Valley House

Gloucester Services

As you read “Gloucester Services” you did one of two things – nodded sagely to yourself or frowned with puzzlement at the appearance of a motorway stopover on a farm shop list. If you don’t know the farm shop services family (there’s another just north of the Lake District), they are how all motorway service stations should be and the Gloucester one is a perfect place to pause if you’re unlucky enough to only be passing through the Cotswolds. In a building as big as an aircraft hangar, you’ll find locally made food and all sorts of other produce, with a huge café and outside area where you can enjoy a taste of the Cotswolds that’ll have you planning a full tour in the future.

Featured places to stay in the Cotswolds

The Lodge Cotswolds

Cirencester, Gloucestershire

From £500 p/n
Self-catering
5 rooms for 10

The Stables at Bibury Farm Barns

Bibury, Gloucestershire

From £400 p/n
Self-catering
4 rooms for 8

Jackdaw Cottage

Chalford, Gloucestershire

From £128 p/n
Self-catering
2 rooms for 4

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Christopher Wilson-Elmes

Sawday's Expert

Chris is our in-house copywriter, with a flair for turning rough notes and travel tales into enticing articles. Raised in a tiny Wiltshire village, he was desperate to travel and has backpacked all over the world. Closer to home, he finds himself happiest in the most remote and rural places he can find, preferably with a host of animals to speak to, some waves to be smashed about in and the promise of a good pint somewhere in his future.

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