Derbyshire runs from the moorland farms of the Hope Valley to the fields south of Derby, and its farm shops follow that spread. This guide compares five: Watson’s Farm Shop at Hope, the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop at Pilsley near Bakewell, Highfield House Farm Shop above Ashover, Croots Farm Shop at Duffield near Belper, and Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room at Hilton. Each rears at least some of its own meat, so the useful question is which shop has the food you need, and where it was grown.
As a Londoner, I know it is not realistic for everyone to live on a farm. A farm shop, farmers' market or community garden can be part of a more direct food routine. Start with a reachable stop and a short list, rather than expecting to change everything at once.
Which farm shop or picking farm should you choose?
Where you live will decide a lot. Watson’s at Hope suits anyone in the High Peak or coming over from Sheffield, and it is a good stop before or after a walk in the Edale valley. Chatsworth at Pilsley is the largest of the five, with a café and a wide range from the estate and its tenant farms, so it suits a longer visit around Bakewell. Highfield House sits on the hills between Chesterfield and Matlock and is mainly a butcher’s shop with a tea room. Croots at Duffield is a short drive from Derby and Belper, and Newlands at Hilton serves the villages west of Derby towards Burton.
If meat is the main reason for the trip, Watson’s, Highfield House and Croots all rear livestock of their own and have their own butchery. For a fuller weekly shop with bakery, deli and drinks, Chatsworth and Croots carry the widest ranges. Newlands is the smallest and keeps shorter hours, so check before you set off.
Check the farm’s current crops, opening times and prices before travelling. Picking seasons vary, and a farm shop may sell produce without offering pick-your-own visits.
- Watson’s Farm Shop , Five generations farming below Lose Hill
- Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop , Estate shop at Pilsley since 1977
- Highfield House Farm Shop , Prince family farm near Ashover since 1986
- Croots Farm Shop , Home-reared lamb at Farnah House Farm, Duffield
- Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room , A small family shop at Hatton Fields
Watson’s Farm Shop
Map and location
Leacroft, Edale Road, Hope, Hope Valley, S33 6ZF. View Watson’s Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01433 620223.
A Hope Valley farm rearing its own cattle and sheep
Watson’s is a family-run farm shop on Edale Road in the village of Hope, in the Peak District part of the High Peak. Its website says five generations of the Watson family have farmed on the slopes of Lose Hill, and the business carries the line ‘Since 1964’. The farm keeps Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle, and Mule, Masham and Jacob sheep. The shop also lists free-range pork, and home-reared chickens and turkeys, with home-reared turkeys offered for Christmas.
The counter covers beef, lamb, mutton, pork, venison and poultry, along with home-cured bacon and gammon, sausages, burgers and kebabs. There are cooked meats, pies, quiches and lasagne, a selection of English cheeses, and home-made biscuits and cakes. Everyday groceries such as bread, milk, eggs and preserves are also stocked, so it works as a village shop as well as a butcher’s.
Visiting and buying
The Watson’s website gives the address and phone number but, when we checked in October 2026, it did not publish opening hours, so ring 01433 620223 before you travel, especially on a Sunday or bank holiday. Hope is on the A6187 between Castleton and Hathersage and has a railway station on the Hope Valley line. Ask which cuts come from the farm’s own cattle and sheep that week, and order Christmas turkeys early.
Watson’s Farm Shop: website and contact details.
Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop
Map and location
Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop, Pilsley, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1UF. View Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01246 583392.
Estate-reared meat and produce from Chatsworth’s tenant farms
The Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop was set up in 1977 by Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, in the estate village of Pilsley, near Bakewell. It sells produce from the estate itself, from its tenant farms, from other Derbyshire suppliers and from small food producers. Chatsworth says more than half of its products are produced or prepared on the estate, and that most of the rest come from within a 30-mile radius. Its butchery counter is built around estate-reared meat.
Alongside the butchery there is a wide grocery, bakery and deli range, and the Chatsworth Kitchen prepares food for the shop. The Farm Shop Café next door serves breakfast, lunch and cakes using as much produce from the farm shop as it can, in a room designed by the Duchess of Devonshire. Tables are first come, first served, so expect to queue at busy times. Seasonal recipes are published on the Chatsworth website.
Visiting and buying
The Visit Peak District listing gives the farm shop’s hours as Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm, with the café open 9am to 5pm daily. Chatsworth’s own site says the café is open every day except 25 and 26 December and 1 January, and that hours can change, so check its opening-times calendar before travelling. There is free parking. Pilsley is off the B6048, about eight miles north of Matlock. Ask staff which items are from the estate itself.
Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Highfield House Farm Shop
Map and location
Darley Road, Stonedge, Ashover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S45 0LW. View Highfield House Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01246 590 817.
Texel sheep, Dexter cattle and pigs above Ashover
Highfield House is a family-run butcher’s, tea room and farm on Darley Road at Stonedge, on high ground between Chesterfield and Matlock in North East Derbyshire. The Prince family moved to the farm in 1986 with a small flock of mules, started a pedigree Texel flock in 1990 and added cattle and pigs over the following years. The farm now keeps British Texel and Beltex sheep and Dexter cattle. The farm shop opened in 1996, grew with a grant in 2004 and moved into a new building in 2014.
The shop sells beef, lamb, pork and poultry that is either the farm’s own or locally sourced, plus game, bacon, gammon and cooked meats. Its sausages are handmade to a family recipe in more than a dozen flavours, alongside handmade burgers. There are pies, pasties and sausage rolls, a cheese and deli counter, bakery, fruit and vegetables, and kiln-dried logs. The 40-seat tea room uses meat and cheese from the shop, milk and cream from a Tupton dairy and ice cream from a Hope Valley farm.
Visiting and buying
The Highfield House website gives the farm shop’s hours as Monday closed, Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 9am to 2pm. The tea rooms open Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 3pm and Sunday 9am to 2pm, with last food orders an hour before closing and full breakfast served until 11.30am. The farm is on the hills south-west of Chesterfield. Ask which meat is from the farm’s own animals that week, as the rest is sourced locally.
Highfield House Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Croots Farm Shop
Map and location
Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, Duffield, Derbyshire DE56 4AQ. View Croots Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01332 843032.
A family farm shop with sheep and Shire horses
Croots is run by Kay Croot at Farnah House Farm, on the Wirksworth Road just outside Duffield, between Derby and Belper. Kay’s parents have farmed there since the 1960s, and the shop opened in 2008, an idea of her late husband Steve. Their children, Nicole and Jamie, both work on the farm. Croots rears its own lamb, which together with Kay’s father’s lambs gives the shop a supply of home-produced lamb, topped up from nearby farms. Visitors can watch the sheep and the farm’s Shire horses grazing.
The butchery hangs meat for at least 21 days. Beef comes from the Heath family at Hazelwood Hall Farm in Derbyshire, and pork and free-range chicken from Packington in Staffordshire. Breads and cakes come mostly from Luke Evans Bakery, and some items are made in the farm’s own kitchens. The shop also has a deli, fruit and vegetables, craft beers, wines, spirits and hampers. The café uses meat from the butchery and serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
Visiting and buying
The Croots website gives the farm shop’s hours as Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sundays and bank holidays 10am to 4pm. The café is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm, with food served until 2.30pm, and on Sundays from 10am to 3pm; afternoon tea needs 48 hours’ notice. Café bookings are on extension 2. Duffield is a short drive north of Derby. Ask which lamb is from the farm, and look at the Christmas click-and-collect service in season.
Croots Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room
Map and location
Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room, Hatton Fields, Hilton, Derby, DE65 5GQ. View Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room on the map.
Contact: 07473 507614.
Home-produced bacon, sausages and lamb near Hilton
Newlands is a small farm shop and tea room at Hatton Fields, near Hilton in South Derbyshire, between Derby and Burton upon Trent. Its website says two generations of the family have farmed and managed the business for more than 50 years, and that in 2022 the family built the farm shop and tea room by hand. The farm supplies the shop with its own bacon, sausages and lamb. It is the smallest of the five shops here and works well as a local stop rather than a big weekly shop.
Alongside the farm’s own meat, the shop stocks everyday groceries, free-range eggs, fresh bread, fruit and vegetables, local honey and chutneys, dairy and crafts. Milk comes from Alkmonton Dairy in Derbyshire, and the shop also sells sustainably sourced Scottish venison. The tea room is in the same building, so you can stop for a drink and cake while you shop.
Visiting and buying
The Newlands website gives combined hours for the shop and tea room of Wednesday to Friday 9am to 3.30pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 9.30am to 3pm, so it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The site asks you to phone during opening hours. Because the website was last updated some time ago, ring ahead to confirm the hours before a special trip. Hilton is just off the A50, south-west of Derby. Ask which meat is from the family’s own farm.
Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room: website and opening hours.
Knowing a farm shop you can return to is also one of the most practical ways to be ready for disruption. Read The Be Ready Campaign: A UK Guide to Stocking Your Home With Healthy, Local Food, and use the Be Ready Map to find more local food across the UK.
Plan your farm visit, produce, quantities and picking dates
Choose one or two farms or farm shops that fit your route. Write down what you want, how much you need and what you will do with it when you get home. If one crop is unavailable, decide whether to choose a different farm, change the meal or return another day.
- Confirm the crop, public opening and any booking requirement.
- Ask whether you can pick yourself or buy already picked.
- Check the price unit, payment method and containers.
- Ask about access, parking and the correct visitor entrance.
Farm shop and fruit-picking questions
Where can I buy local food in Derbyshire?
Good farm shops are spread across Derbyshire: Watson’s at Hope in the High Peak, the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop at Pilsley near Bakewell, Highfield House above Ashover near Chesterfield, Croots at Duffield near Belper, and Newlands at Hilton, west of Derby. All five sell some meat from their own farm or estate.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. Derbyshire covers a wide area, and this guide spreads its choices across the county. Each farm section gives its location so you can compare the journey before you set off.
Can I pick at every farm or market?
No. Farm shops and markets may sell ready-picked food without opening fields to visitors. Ask the individual business about picking access, the crop and any booking requirement.
Plan your farm shopping with My Shopping List and Harvest Checker
Open My Shopping List to record produce, quantities and estimated costs. Mark items as bought when you collect them and keep the plan for your next trip.
Use Harvest Checker after a grower gives you a picking window. Enter those dates and compare them with your visit date. The tool uses your entries; it does not fetch live availability from farms.
My Shopping List
Keep the produce you actually need in one place before you set off.
Use My Shopping ListHarvest Checker
Compare your visit with dates confirmed by the grower. This does not check live stock.
Use Harvest CheckerUse the tools with your My Ideal World account. Guest and free-account limits apply; paid members have unlimited tool access.
Explore more farm shops and picking farms in My Ideal World. Browse the Farm Shops app below or beside this article, then check the grower’s current crop and opening before visiting.
Sources
- Watson’s Farm Shop , official website
- Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop , Chatsworth official website
- Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop , Chatsworth: find the farm shop
- Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop , Visit Peak District
- Highfield House Farm Shop , official website (about us)
- Highfield House Farm Shop , official website (farm shop)
- Highfield House Farm Shop , North East Derbyshire District Council food and drink trail
- Croots Farm Shop , official website (our roots)
- Croots Farm Shop , official website (butchery)
- Croots Farm Shop , official website (café and opening hours)
- Newlands Farm Shop & Tea Room , official website
Research reviewed 25 October 2026. Farm and visitor sources support the descriptions above. Historical information is identified where relevant; no firsthand visit, current stock check or certification is claimed.