9 of the best farm shops in Cornwall

There’s an abundance of incredible produce available to fine food retailers in Cornwall – from spanking fresh seafood, to rich cream and dairy, and excellent wines and spirits. We’ve rounded up a few which really push the envelope when it comes to championing local and creating an experience for shoppers, while demonstrating great pride in what’s on their doorsteps.

Do you think your Cornish farm shop belongs on our list? Get in touch!

Padstow Farm Shop

Location: Padstow
Shop hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm

With four generations of Charlie Watson Smyth’s family having farmed the land at Tregirls Farm, dating back to the 1950s, Padstow Farm Shop was formally established in 2006 after years of supplying fresh veg boxes to all the local restaurants – including the Stein empire. “We decided it would be great to have a shop that sold our veg, and that grew into the idea of selling our own free-range, home-reared beef, pork and lamb that roams free over the headland,” says manager Sarah Hodgson.

The farm shop’s on-site butchery sells its own pasture-fed Ruby Reds, traditionally reared lamb and free-range pork. “All our animals spend their entire life outside,” says Sarah. She notes that is a huge selling point for customers, as pork bought in a supermarket only needs to be outside for three weeks to be classes as free-range, “which we think is outrageous”. Padstow Farm Shop takes the welfare of their animals to the next level. “Our head butcher, Eliza, works at the small, family-run abattoir not too far from here so we have someone from the farm with our animals from birth, which means a lot to us.”

The shop is known for selling many types of local produce, from Padstow Pasta made from the farm’s durum wheat to dairy and baked goods. Sarah tells Speciality Food their best-selling products are their own meat and veg, local Cornish cheeses, and products made fresh in the deli every day. The shop’s selection of Cornish rums is another highlight for Sarah.

The site’s Roundhouse Deli, which opened in 2018, is a particularly eye-catching feature, set in a renovated roundhouse that once housed the millstone that ground the harvested barley. The take-away deli makes fresh salads daily and a range of homemade soups and pies, curries, and casseroles, all made using the farm’s own produce, so there’s “no rubbish,” Sarah says.

Trevaskis Farm

Location: Connor Downs, Hayle
Shop hours: 8am - 8pm

Boasting “the complete countryside experience”, Trevaskis Farm is a great spot for a family day out, a casual lunch or a perusal of fresh produce in the farm shop. The farm was established in the early 1980s, after Paul Eustice decided to fulfil his passion for growing fruit. “As the strawberries ripened, he invited the public to come to the farm to ‘pick your own’,” says Serena Eustice. “The Farm Shop had begun, then just a converted corrugated iron shed!

“In over 40 years of trading as a family we have maintained the same traditional ethos, always sourcing homegrown and home-reared produce or from trusted local producers wherever possible,” Serena continues. Bursting with Cornish food and drink, the market sells everyday store cupboard essentials as well as artisan products, and staff enjoy sharing their tips with customers on cheeseboard selections and seasonal recipes. 

For Trevaskis Farm, the emphasis is always on homegrown products – and to that end, customers can choose from a selection of over 100 different seasonal crops grown for fruit and veg, plus a deli, dairy, bakery and fishmongers. The butchery is known for its award-winning cured rare breed British Lop ham and local South Devon breed beef, which is slow reared, naturally fed on grass and hung the traditional way, then hand cut by highly skilled butchers for the perfect joint. These are two of the shop’s best-selling products. In addition to the usual homemade sausages, burgers and home-cured bacon and gammon, customers can also find speciality meats like venison, pheasant and wild boar on sale seasonally. “We aim to provide it all under one roof,” Serena says.

The market supports many other local producers, including cheesemakers such as Lynher Dairies, producing Cornish Yarg, The Cornish Cheese Co for their Cornish Brie, and fantastic offerings from the Padstow Cheese Co. Meanwhile, over at the restaurant, Serena shares her recommendations: “For breakfast it’s got to be The Trevaskis Breakfast, for lunch the Open Steak Sandwich or the Farmer’s Platter, and in the evening our incredible Slow Roasted British Lop Pork Belly, our delicious range of hand cut steaks or the huge Pulled Pork Burger made with our own crafted burgers using our British Lop Pork.”

Boscastle Farm Shop

Location: Boscastle
Shop hours: 9am-5pm

Boscastle Farm Shop and Cafe is set in a stunning location, surrounded by National Trust farmland and less than 50 yards from a coastal path. Owners Robin and Jackie created the shop around the concept of their passion for great-quality local produce and a love for the natural beauty of the area. The shop and cafe have excellent views of the Cornish coast, and visitors can even take short walks to view the surrounding wildlife, from grey seals in the cove below to peregrine falcons that nest in the cliffs. 

However, the farm shop isn’t only a fantastic location. It sells its own pedigree Devon cattle, which can be seen grazing the fields, as well as Boscastle-caught lobster, artisan breads and speciality foods from small, local producers.

The kitchen makes a number of delicious food products from scratch, such as homemade pies, cakes and ready meals, using fresh, seasonal ingredients that are locally sourced wherever possible – or better yet from its own fields. In addition to fresh food from the deli and butchery, the farm shop sells jars, tins and bottles of store cupboard staples for customers to explore and take home to make their own meals. The cafe, meanwhile, serves everything from Cornish breakfasts to homemade pasties and plenty of dishes using the local meats, seafood and cheeses.

Trevathan Farm

Location: Port Isaac
Shop hours: 9am-4pm

Trevathan Farm started with a garden shed in a field of pick-your-own strawberries, and has exploded into a must-visit site packed with traditional Cornish holiday cottages, a restaurant and farm shop full of locally made goodies. “We are a family-run business which was started by my grandfather over 30 years ago,” says Grace Symons. After Henry Symons put up a permanent building with a cafe and small farm shop, the site quickly grew “considerably”. “The shop now sells a large range of fresh fruit, veg, locally made honey, homemade jams, chutneys, cakes, home-produced beef and lamb, and variety of different gifts and cards,” Grace says. 

It’s hard to pick just one USP on such a diverse site, but Grace says it has to be the pick-your-own offering. “We do pick-your-own strawberries, gooseberries, pumpkins and sunflowers when in season, and this proves very popular.” As well as being a working farm, Trevathan offers a fishing lake, tractor rides and animal visits in the pets’ corner, which is home to alpacas, emus, sheep, goats, Guinea pigs and rabbits. There is also a large outdoor play area for children with outdoor seating.

At the restaurant, Grace says, “Our Sunday roasts are very popular, which we serve with our own beef and lamb and then local pork and turkey.” When it comes to the farm shop, Grace says there are many fantastic producers that they stock, but she highlights Heywood Cider Farm, which is just five miles down the road. “They make their own cider, which is excellent,” Grace says.

 

Tre, Pol & Pen

Location: Launceston
Shop hours: 9am-5pm

Tre, Pol & Pen takes its name from the Cornish prefixes for homestead, pond or lake, and hill or headland, and the farm just happens to be situated on a hill beside an ancient spring. “It’s these elements of home, water and earth that we believe are the key to a life well fed,” the business says, and it aims to bring people together to celebrate fresh food, craft and flavour.

The farm shop features a range of essential groceries and speciality grocery items, sourced from their doorstep in Cornwall and the Southwest whenever possible. On site, there is a delicatessen selling freshly cut local cheeses and free-range cured meats, as well as homemade pasties, pies and more, and a butcher, which prepares the farm’s own Landue Red Ruby beef, which graze on the fields that surround the farm shop. There is also grass-fed lamb reared in the Tamar Valley, pork supplied from The Cornish Farmhouse Bacon Company and a good selection of prepared meats to choose from. Staff at the counters love helping customers create cheeseboards or advising how to prepare and cook different cuts of meat.

In the heart of the farm shop is also a restaurant serving breakfast, lunches, cream teas, Sunday roasts and coffee and cake. In addition to an online shop, the site is also used to host events like themed menus, open mics and artisan ‘Maker’s Market’ events.

Bailey’s Country Store

Location: Penryn
Shop hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5.30pm; Saturday, 8am-5pm

Situated in the historic town of Penryn, a stone’s throw away from Falmouth, Bailey’s Country Store and farm shop offers the best of Cornish food and drink as well as pet supplies, animal feeds, bedding, fuels for fires and wood-burners and gardening tools.

With a passion for ‘good-old-fashioned customer service’, new customers are welcomed into the fold with advice and tips from staff about the shop’s many products. The farm shop includes products from “talented growers and makers” who deliver fresh, locally grown and reared produce every day. This includes free-range chicken and pork, sausages and bacon from Primrose Herd and seasonal game from Duchy Game; seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit; and Cornish cheeses, such as Cornish Yarg, Cornish Gouda and local Davidstow Cheddar. It also stocks plenty of Cornish drinks, like Verdant beer, Cornish Orchard Cider, Knightor winery, Camel Valley wine and Tarquin’s gin.

Bailey’s Country Store has an in-house kitchen too, where the team cook up all manner of delicious Cornish treats, such as cakes, sausage rolls, soups and sandwiches.

 

Etherington’s Farm Shop

Location: Redruth
Shop hours: 8.30am-5pm

Etherington’s Farm Shop not only sells everyday store cupboard ingredients and specialist products sourced directly from local farmers and producers, but it also serves customers award-winning meats at its butchery counter, and is home to Etherington’s Bakery, where the team of ‘Crimpetts’ hand-make nearly 1,000 pasties a day.

Boasting an in-store delicatessen offering one of the best selections of cheeses in the area, as well as fresh deli treats, like olives and charcuterie, and a selection of beers and wines to go with any meal (think Cornish gins like Tarquin’s, Curio and Trevethan, and picks from further afield like Salcombe Gin and Monkey 47), Etherington’s friendly farm shop team offers assistance and advice on everything from cooking the perfect steak to creating a killer cheeseboard. What’s more, it’s all done from the shop’s eco-friendly building.

Etherington’s is also home to a butchery school, with bespoke courses drawing on the staff’s 60 years of expert knowledge, held in the butchery classroom next to the farm shop.

Richards of Cornwall

Location: Hayle
Shop hours: Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm

Richards of Cornwall has a family-run farm shop just around the corner from the farm in Hayle. The team works with small, artisan producers who they say “care about our customers’ food”, including producers of fresh fruit and vegetables, traditional free-range meat and poultry, award-winning cheeses and dairy products, homemade jams, chutneys and sauces, hand-pressed apple juice and more.

The family’s farm, Carwin Farm, boasts some of the finest soil in West Cornwall, which is great for growing a wide range of fruit and veg, including Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. The farm is also well known for its daffodils, of which Cornwall is the biggest producer in the world. The farm sells both cut flowers, harvested from January through April, and bulbs, which are sold from July onwards.

Lobbs Farm Shop

Location: Heligan
Shop hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9.30am-5pm

Lobbs Farm Shop is run by the three Lobb brothers, who have made a name for themselves producing premium-quality Cornish grass-fed beef and lamb. The animals are home-reared on the family’s three farms, each of which is run by one of the brothers: Corran Farm (Terry Lobb), Lower Kestle Farm (Ian Lobb) and Higher Kestle Farm (Richard Lobb). Their South Devon and Limousin suckler cows and Poll Dorset sheep are fully traceable and reared to the highest standard.

In addition to meat, they grow seasonal vegetables and fantastic West Country products that they sell in the farm shop, which also operates online. Customers have the chance to explore the shop’s meat counter, cheese counter and deli counter, as well as dairy products, fresh baked goods frozen goods (including their own pies and handmade dishes), and so much more.

The farm shop’s location next to the Lost Gardens of Heligan make it a great stopping point for visitors to get a taste of the fantastic food and drink products Cornwall has to offer.