16 of the best farm shops in Suffolk

Grange Farm Shop
Location: Hasketon
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

Owners Annabel and Will share a strong ethos that farm shops should support the local economy while being as sustainable and ethically minded as possible. To this end, they work with local farmers, growers and producers who share their values and commitment to lower food miles by using traditional methods, minimising packaging, and being kinder to the environment.

The shopping experience begins with a colourful display of fresh fruit and vegetables (some grown nearby at neighbouring farms), opening out to showcase the best Suffolk meat, cured fish, chutneys, jams, cheeses and dairy, grains and more.

Having extra buildings on site is a great way for farm shops to become ‘hubs’ for visitors, and Grange Farm is happily joined by a range of other outlets, from the Barn Cafe, to seafood expert Mike Warner’s fishmongers (A Passion for Seafood), EJ Art Creative, and Richard Anthony Rush Antiques.

Pop-up street food vendors appear throughout the year, with plenty of space outside to soak up the sun and enjoy good food alongside a bottle or can of something chilled from the shop.

Friday Street Farm Shop
Location: Saxmundham
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 8.30am to 5pm Friday, 9am to 5pm Sunday

Friday Street is not just a farm shop, it’s a destination. Close to the world famous Snape Maltings and well-at-heel seaside resort Aldeburgh, the complex has many feathers to its cap, and has become a must-visit destination for foodies in, and visiting, the county.

Vastly expanded in recent years, the store brims with a huge range of fruit and vegetables including (in season) highly revered Suffolk asparagus, and their own berries, with an incredibly popular PYO farm being a firm favourite family activity in the summer months.

There’s an extensive range of ambient goods, chillers are filled to the rafters, predominantly with Suffolk and East Anglian produce, and the array of frozen goods has grown considerably, tapping into ongoing demand from customers for quick, easy meal solutions. You’ll find plenty from Cook, Fieldfare, The Original Baker and others.

What makes Friday Street absolutely stand out though is its butchery and deli section. Here, customers will find all the cuts they know and love, alongside a range of sausages, burgers, and lots of ever-changing, inventive meal solutions to make dinnertime as simple as possible.

The deli counter brims with homecooked hams, pork pies, sausage rolls, quiches, Scotch eggs, olives and more. While Suffolk’s first and only cheese room takes centre stage in store, taking the customer experience to the next level. Behind the sliding glass door is a carefully curated selection of the finest British and continental varieties, from exceptional Cheddars to modern favourites such as Alp Blossom.

Other reasons to visit are Friday Street Farm Kitchen – open for breakfast, lunches, Sunday roasts and delicious homemade cakes and puddings – the onsite fishmongers, and to stay in one of the five self-catering properties.

If you plan on becoming a regular visitor, make sure you pick up a loyalty card. There are some excellent deals to take advantage of.

Hollow Trees Farm
Location: Semer
Shop hours: 8.30am to 5.45pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm Sunday

Like many farm shop success stories, Hollow Trees started in a shed. Sally and Robert Bendall (both from farming stock), initially took on a farm east of Ipswich in the 80s – Robert growing potatoes and vegetables, and Sally delivering them to greengrocers and shops in the area. Some produce was sold from a cart outside Robert’s dad’s farm at Semer, and when the couple decided to start their family, he allowed them to rent 10 acres of land on site. They towed over their caravan and set up under a hollow tree, building two sheds, and renting land in the village to put down roots and begin their growing endeavours in this part of the county.

When Robert’s dad retired, they took on the 140-acre family farm and the rest is history.

A lot has changed in the decades that have followed. Sally no longer has to drive all over Suffolk with her children bundled in the car to source the county’s finest produce. And the offering and footprint of the shop have grown vastly.

There’s always plenty of fresh fruit and veg, some grown on the farm. Locally baked and homemade bread and scones make a daily appearance. And the range of goods filling the shelves, chillers and freezers is a who’s who of the Suffolk, East Anglian and British food scenes, boasting cakes, preserves, oils, cereals, flours, grains and pulses, crisps, chocolate, beer, wines, spirits and premium ready meals.

The butchery counter is often the first port of call for customers, and champions the farm’s own beef, pork and lamb, as well as produce from other higher welfare suppliers. All the traditional cuts, steaks and joints are available, alongside a really exciting, regularly changing array of flavoured sausages and meal solutions, be that stuffed beef ‘truffles’, prepared porchetta, kebabs, stir fry mixes and more.

A separate deli room serves homecooked hams, charcuterie, olives and fine cheeses, while the deli chiller is filled daily by the production team from the brilliant onsite cafe. As well as rustling up breakfasts, lunches, and a very good selection of homemade cakes, the chefs make meals to grab and go in the deli (from lasagnes to pizza), plus coleslaw, potato salads and quiches. 

Adjoined to the shop is a dedicated plant centre, selling largely home-grown bedding and perennial varieties. And the farm trail (with its friendly animals and activities) has been loved by families for almost two decades. It’s especially popular during seasonal events such as the annual Holloween extravaganza, and at Christmas, with homegrown trees available, and dining sessions with Santa selling out often within days of being announced.

Hall Farm
Location: Stratford St Mary
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sundays

Hall Farm straddles the Suffolk/Essex border in the beautiful Dedham Vale. While the farm’s been operated by the Barrie family since 1929, the farm shop opened in 2001, at a time when interest in farm produce and farmers’ markets was really taking off.

Known for producing beef and lamb, having their own outlet on the farm, selling direct to the public, proved fruitful, with an old stable block converted and developed over time into what stands today.

The butchery counter and freezers are well stocked with their own meat, and other prime cuts from trusted local suppliers. There’s always a very good range of quality fruit and vegetables, including the farm’s own potatoes. And visitors will find everything they need to pull together a meal, hamper or picnic basket (to enjoy nearby alongside the river). Picnic fare ranges from pastries and savouries, to really good glazed ham, local rolls and breads and fresh cakes and traybakes.

The shop also sells gifts, and plants in season.

From early spring the farm trail is open, with a snack shack and mini golf.

And Hall Farm’s cafe restaurant has a solid reputation for producing good, hearty, wholesome fare. The menu has included classics such as beef stew (made with their own beef) and dumplings, through to grilled sardines on homemade toast with chimmichurri and tomato salsa. Bookings are highly recommended, particularly for Sunday lunchtimes.

Emmerdale Farm Shop
Location: Yoxford
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

Settled in the heart of the Suffolk Heritage Coast, Emmerdale Farm Shop is a mecca for foodies who want to stock up their freezers.

It’s best known for having one of the biggest butchers if not in Suffolk but in the entire East of England, showcasing the Thickett family’s own slow-reared, outdoor grazed Red Poll, Aberdeen Angus, and Hereford beef,

All manner of cuts of these, and other excellent quality local meat and game, are on display fresh at the counter, and in numerous freezers. You’ll discover absolutely everything here, be it offal, every imaginable type of steak, T-bones, rib-in joints, marinated pork ribs, whole and jointed chickens, game, lamb, mutton, guinea fowl. The list goes on.

The freezer offering continues into homemade food. Pack your trolley with burgers and sausages in ever exotic (and classic) flavours, pies, filled pastries, pasties, sausage rolls, curries, stews – dozens and dozens of options.

Emmerdale Farm Shop’s own fare is supplemented by local beer, cider, juice, ice cream, cheeses, smoked fish, chocolate and preserves, and pretty much anything you might need to cook up a storm.

There’s pet and outdoor supplies as well. And an onsite cafe run by a third party.

Willow Tree Farm Shop & Cafe
Location: Glemsford
Shop hours: 9am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm Sunday

We think this farm shop’s a bit of a ‘hidden gem’ in Suffolk. The family who run it have been serving locals for nearly 75 years, and put a lot of purchase in supplying homegrown and local produce first. It’s a bit of a Tardis, opening up to reveal lots of nooks and crannies, each filled with all manner of goodies, from the wherewithal to prepare a meal, bake or host a dinner party, to everything required for grazing platter or picnic.

Expect to find fresh fruit and vegetables (including their own produce in season), alongside stocks and sauces, Dinky Treats cakes, Butterworth & Son coffee, Crush granola, Thursday Cottage preserves, spices, juices, flour, crisps and snacks, gifts – there’s very little they don’t have.

The freezers are stocked very well, with excellent quality ready meals and prepared foods (including Brick pizzas from Norwich) and probably one of the biggest ranges of East Anglian ice creams in Suffolk.

And the cheese and deli selection is a cut above the rest, boasting a vast array of varieties such as Godminster and Isle of Kintyre truckles, flavoured Croome cheeses, Fen Farm’s Baron Bigod, Kentish Blue, Scottish Minger and many many others, all nestled alongside premium butters, pates, spreads and smoked fish.

Pet supplies, wood, bedding plants (seasonal), eco cleaning products and gifts sit alongside the food and drink offering.

Booking is highly recommended for the farm shop’s cafe, which serves restaurant quality dishes from breakfast through lunch, including daily changing specials (think risottos, pies, stews and salads) and regular events popping up throughout the year. It’s a fabulous pit stop for homemade desserts, cakes and coffee too.

La Hogue Farm Shop & Cafe
Location: Chippenham
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm Sunday

Owners Chris and Jo are from farming families and are keen to showcase locally made and locally reared produce and ingredients as far as possible at this modern farm shop near Newmarket.

Appealing to families, a big draw to this business is its large, contemporary cafe, with a sunny terrace and lawn (with play area) looking out to Newmarket’s gallops. It does a roaring trade throughout the year for breakfasts, lunches and Sunday roasts, using meat from the shop’s own butchery, and as much seasonal produce as possible.

Speaking of the butchery, head butcher Bob has worked hard to build up its reputation over the years, bringing in swathes of regulars who love the counter’s fresh sausages, roasting joints, steaks and more. All meat is sourced from farms within Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, and lamb is reared by Chris on the nearby Euston Estate in Bury St Edmunds.

As well as stocking the cafe, the butchery feeds into the deli selection, where you’ll be able to buy hams, pies, sausage rolls and Scotch eggs.

Elsewhere in the farm shop there’s fresh produce, and a carefully chosen selection of ambient goods from brands such as Stokes, Adnams, Tracklements and Peter’s Yard.

Maple Farm
Location: Kelsale
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm daily

The Kendalls have been farming organically for over 20 years, backed by certification from the Soil Association. For them, being organic isn’t a fad or trend, it’s a source of immense pride. A great deal of care goes into nourishing the soil on site, looking after the surrounding natural environment, and encouraging biodiversity, bringing exceptional quality produce into the shop.

What they grow depends, obviously, on the time of year, but there are usually the staples (carrots, onions, potatoes, greens), with what’s available from the farm and other trusted growers, going far and beyond what you might find in the average farm shop – think agretti, aubergines, Jerusalem artichokes and a variety of mushrooms.

Eggs come from their own happy free roaming hens, flour is milled at Maple Farm using organic grain, there’s Suffolk honey, their own preserves made with surplus fruit and veg, and meat – some supplied by farmers whose cattle and sheep graze the farm in warmer weather.

While the farm shop’s stock is largely geared to organic, the Kendalls are happy to support other producers they implicitly trust and respect, be that Fen Farm Dairy (maker of Baron Bigod Brie) or Hodmedod’s (grower of grains, pulses, beans and more).

If you’re peckish, Pinch is based at the farm. It’s run separately by chef Alice who rustles up wonderful crullers (a kind of doughnut made with choux pastry) and Roman-style pizza by the slice, using as much produce from the farm as possible.

Jimmy’s Farm
Location: Wherstead
Shop hours: Daily, check before travelling

Jimmy and Michaela Doherty’s journey began with a humble rare breeds farm trail and butchery (which very quickly became known for its sausages). Today the farm shop is just a part of the experience at this incredible wildlife park, now home to polar bears, Arctic wolves, crocodiles and snakes.

Also onsite are a garden centre, country shop, sweet shop and various seasonal food outlets for visitors, alongside the main restaurant, housed in a 200-year-old barn.

The farm shop today is deli-led, geared more towards daytrippers seeking gifts, or those who want to take picnicky bits down into the park. You’ll find homemade sausage rolls, cakes, tarts, barista coffee, and a selection of products from across Suffolk and East Anglia – from beers and spirits to crisps and biscuits.

Alder Carr Farm
Location: Needham Market
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

Named Best Small Farm Shop in the Farm Retail Awards 2024, Alder Carr Farm is a treat to visit. And did you know it’s home to multi award-winning Alder Tree ice cream? Made purely with British cream, sugar and fresh fruit (predominantly grown on the farm) these pots and tubs of joy are a favourite with food and drink judges and chefs, who love the creamy, richly fruity experience they bring to the table.

Blackcurrant and Gooseberry & Elderflower are just two of the bestselling flavours.

Alder Carr is run by the Hardingham family, who are committed to having as low a carbon footprint as possible. The farm is run on renewable energy, they source as locally and ethically as they can, try to minimise waste and plastic on site, and work carefully to manage the fields and wet woodland, which has encouraged the flourishing of many bird, small animal and insect species.

There’s always a colourful welcome, as the entrance to the shop is filled with plants from Katie’s garden centre, while goods from William & Herbert (an antiques and vintage store based in a cute converted dovecote) spill out to greet visitors.

Within the farm shop itself, every inch of space is filled with epicurean delights, be it seasonal produce, cured meats, sausage rolls, pies, quiches, olives and salady bits from the deli counter, fresh meat in the butchery, charcuterie, smoked fish, pates and dips in the chillers, flour, cereals, oils, chutneys, pickles, cakes, or fresh bread from award-winning Wooster’s and Palmers of Haughley.

We like the ‘snacks and treats’ area near the tills, filled with some of the tastiest nuts, chocolates, crisps and nibbles. And the wide range of speciality beers, wines and spirits.

Look out too for eco cleaning and beauty products, and refill items (don’t forget your pots and jars).

Behind the shop in the courtyard are a clutch of crafty folk (the Country Studio, Sugarcraft Studio and Paddy Peters) plus the Courtyard Cafe, where booking is essential most days of the week. The oak framed barn is open for breakfast, lunch, Sunday lunch, cakes and coffee, and afternoon teas, and its menu includes the usual cafe fare and favourites alongside dishes that are a little bit more special, such as honey and mustard glazed pulled ham hock on toasted sourdough crumpets with poached eggs and hollandaise, and venison, pork and smoked bacon cottage pie.

Fields Farmshop & Restaurant
Location: East Bergholt
Shop hours: 9am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday

The owners of this modern farm shop business come from a catering background, and that really shows, as a major attraction for visitors is the restaurant, which has become known in the area for its incredible Sunday lunches, inventive, generously portioned breakfasts, and tasty cakes and savouries.

Fields has really taken off since it opened just a few years ago, and is constantly growing. Adding more furred and feathered friends to its paddocks (currently home to alpacas, Highland cows, potbellied pigs and others), creating magical events and pop-ups, and expanding the offering in the shop.

Here you can pick up all the essentials you need, be that free-range local eggs, fresh bread, cheese, milk, meat, vegetables and their own honey, sold alongside Suffolk wines, beers and spirits, gifts, homeware, pet supplies and eco-friendly refill products.

Suffolk Farmhouse Cheese
Location: Creeting St Mary
Shop hours: 10am to 5pm Friday and Saturday

The petite farm shop and vending room are just one way the Salisbury family showcase their fabulous cheeses and dairy, made using milk from their award-winning herd of pedigree Guernsey cows.

The cows are grazed outside in warm weather, milked by a lower stress voluntary system, and fed high quality feed, resulting in a sumptuous, luxuriously creamy finish to all Suffolk Farmhouse Cheese products.

Swing by to purchase Suffolk Gold, Suffolk Blue, Suffolk Brie and Suffolk Blue-Brie, as well as cream, butter, milk, local produce and their own home-reared pork and beef.

Fen Farm Dairy
Location: Bungay and Eye
Shop hours: Bungay 6am to 8pm daily, Eye 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Thursday, 7.30am to 7pm Friday, 8am to 6pm Saturday, 10am to 3pm Sunday

The Crickmores were the first farm in the UK to put milk in a vending system. This led to vending for their cheese, cream, butter and more at Bungay. And now the family operate two petite farm shops – one at the dairy, and the other strategically positioned along a main route connecting Suffolk to Norwich.

As well as being outlets for their own produce, the shops have a very strong presence of local suppliers, including ready prepared meals, artisan bread, fabulous pastries and bakes, ice creams, charcuterie, meat, snacks and fruit and veg in season. You can pick up hot drinks for the road too. Handy stopping points for grabbing dinner or lunchy bits on the way to/from home.

Coxs at Spencers Farm Shop
Location: Wickham St Paul
Shop hours: 9am to 4pm Tuesday to Sunday (winter), 9am to 5pm (summer)

The Cox family name will be a familiar one with pubs, cafes and restaurants, as the family are synonymous with having delivered fruit and vegetables to the hospitality industry in Suffolk and Essex for three decades.

They took over Spencers Farm Shop (between Halstead and Sudbury) in 2020, continuing the legacy of the Spencer family by selling their soft fruits, asparagus and a huge array of apples in season, alongside a wide range of other local fresh and ambient produce, from Maynard House juices, to fish from Ken Green, Criterion ice cream and cider from Big Bear in Essex.

Meat arrives daily from the local butcher, alongside bread from the local baker.

And there’s plenty of inspiration for the home and garden too, with a selection of furniture, accessories and gifts to browse.

If you’re hungry, stay a while to enjoy breakfast, brunch or lunch by the log burner or out on a picnic bench at Carters Cafe, where homemade fare is the order of the day, from the traditional full English, to avocado on sourdough with roasted tomatoes, quiche of the day, burgers, ploughman’s, and Sunday lunches.

Wangford Farm Shop
Location: Wangford
Shop hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday

Surprisingly, it’s rare to find many farm shops today which actually grow their own vegetables (it’s a tough gig). But this operation truly does what it says on the tin, being based on a working farm, with a changing range of homegrown produce being available throughout the year.

This offering is enhanced by a wide selection of daily essentials, store cupboard items such as pulses and beans, treats, sweets, snacks and cakes, pet food and pet supplies, and bedding plants and garden goods.

Additionally, if you fancy staying in the area, there are four holiday chalets available to book.

Maisebrook Farm Shop
Location: Beccles
Shop hours: 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday

If you’re seeking out excellent quality meat, look no further. Maisebrook, on the outskirts of Beccles, is renowned especially for game, and the farm’s own free-range wild boar, pork and chicken.

There’s always a wide offering of cuts, alongside delicious sausages (partridge and whisky marmalade were a recent customer favourite) and sausage rolls, venison burgers, venison pies and venison Wellingtons.

Both fresh and frozen meat are available, as well as essentials (from pasta to Stokes and Cherry Tree preserves, tins of tomatoes and fresh milk from ES Burroughs). And most customers can’t resist leaving without some baked goodies – be it scones, buns or a slice of the day’s traybake.