This guide compares five farm shops spread across East Lothian: Gosford Bothy Farm Shop on the Gosford Estate near Aberlady, East Coast Organics at Boggs Holdings in the west of the county, Fenton Barns Farm Shop between Drem and Dirleton, the Brand Family Larder at East Fortune Farm near North Berwick, and Carfrae Farm Shop in the Lammermuir foothills near Gifford. Each has a different strength, so the useful question is which shop has the food you need, and where it was grown or reared.

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?

If you live in Musselburgh, Tranent or the western villages, Gosford Bothy and East Coast Organics are the shortest journeys: Gosford for meat from the estate's own farm, East Coast Organics for certified organic vegetables, many grown on the farm. Fenton Barns and the Brand Family Larder sit only a few miles apart in the north of the county, between Haddington and North Berwick, so they combine well in one trip; Fenton Barns has the café, East Fortune the home-reared pork and lamb. Carfrae, south of Haddington towards the Lammermuirs, suits a day out near Gifford and Danskine Loch.

Around Dunbar there are fewer farm shops. Belhaven Smokehouse at Beltonford, just off the A1, is a smokehouse shop rather than a farm shop, but it sells its own smoked salmon and trout alongside other Scottish food, Wednesday to Sunday. Opening hours change with the seasons, so check before a long drive.

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.

• Gosford Bothy Farm Shop , Estate butchery near Aberlady
• East Coast Organics , Certified organic grower and box scheme
• Fenton Barns Farm Shop & Café , Food hall and café near Drem
• The Brand Family Larder , Home-reared pork and lamb at East Fortune
• Carfrae Farm Shop , Gibson family farm since 1933

Gosford Bothy Farm Shop

Map and location

Gosford Bothy Farm Shop & Butchery, Gosford Estate, Aberlady, East Lothian, EH32 0PX. View Gosford Bothy Farm Shop on the map.

Contact: 01875 871234.

A butchery shop on the Gosford Estate

Gosford Bothy Farm Shop and Butchery is on the Gosford Estate, near Aberlady in the west of East Lothian. According to its Visit East Lothian listing, most of the meat sold in the shop comes from animals raised on Gosford farm, which makes it one of the more direct links between field and counter in the county. The shop's own website is brief and gives little history, so if you want to know more about the farm, its livestock and how the animals are kept, ask at the counter; the butchers are the people best placed to tell you.

The shop is described as a farm shop and butchery selling a range of good-quality local food, with the butchery counter at its centre. Expect fresh cuts, and ask what is available from the estate's own animals that week, since the range will vary. Visit East Lothian's listing for Gosford Bothy was last updated in November 2023, so treat the detail of the range as a guide rather than a promise.

Visiting and buying

The shop's website lists opening hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm, closed on Sunday and Monday. The site does not say how recently these were updated, so ring 01875 871234 before a special trip, especially near bank holidays. Note the shop's own postcode, EH32 0PX, differs from the one in the tourism listing and use the shop's own postcode for directions. It is a short drive from Longniddry and Aberlady, and easy to combine with a walk at Aberlady Bay. Ask which meat is from Gosford's own farm.

Gosford Bothy Farm Shop: website and opening hours.

East Coast Organics

Map and location

24 Boggs Holdings, East Lothian, EH34 5BD. View East Coast Organics on the map.

Contact: 07444 472667.

Organic vegetables grown just east of Edinburgh

East Coast Organics is an organic farm which describes itself as located just east of Edinburgh, at Boggs Holdings in the west of East Lothian. The business says it started 28 years ago and has sold at the Edinburgh Farmers' Market on Castle Terrace every Saturday since 2000. It grows fruit and vegetables by organic methods, and all its produce is certified organic, with inspections and detailed record-keeping each year. It has been named greengrocer of the year and received Slow Food awards five years running, and it delivers its boxes in electric vans.

The farm shop sells organic fruit, vegetables and herbs, with store-cupboard goods, meat and chilled items. On its online shop many vegetables carry a farm label, among them cabbages, kale, cavolo nero, beetroot, carrots, leeks, chard, salad leaves and herbs, while other items show the country they came from. The weekly box scheme offers ready-made boxes, a Flexibox with swaps, or build-your-own orders, and boxes can be collected from the shop.

Visiting and buying

The farm's contact page gives shop hours of Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 4pm, and closed on Sunday. On Saturday mornings the team is also at the Edinburgh Farmers' Market, Castle Terrace, from 9am to 2pm. Use the postcode for directions and allow a little extra time on country roads. In winter the range of farm-grown vegetables narrows to roots and brassicas; ask which items were grown here and which were bought in from other organic growers.

East Coast Organics: website and opening hours.

Fenton Barns Farm Shop & Café

Map and location

Fenton Barns Retail Village, North Berwick, East Lothian, EH39 5BW. View Fenton Barns Farm Shop & Café on the map.

Contact: 01620 850 294.

A food hall and café between Drem and Dirleton

Fenton Barns Farm Shop and Café is part of Fenton Barns Retail Village, on the B1345 between Drem and Dirleton, a few miles south of North Berwick and close to Gullane and the East Lothian beaches. It is one of the best-known food stops in the north of the county and is open every day. The shop's website says little about its history or about which products come from the surrounding farmland, so it is worth asking at the counter which vegetables and meat are local and which were grown or reared nearby.

The food hall stocks locally grown vegetables that change with the seasons, bread, fresh and frozen meat, game such as venison, pheasant and rabbit, smoked fish, Scottish cheeses, heather honey, jams and pickles. There are free-range hens', duck and quail eggs, home-made pâtés, soups, ready meals and puddings, and giftware. The café serves breakfast, lunch and tea, with daily specials, home-made soups, filled rolls, tarts and stovies.

Visiting and buying

The shop's website gives opening hours of every day, 10am to 5pm, with the café open 10am to 4.30pm. Parking is free outside the door. By car, Fenton Barns is on the B1345 between Drem and Dirleton; there are buses from Haddington and North Berwick, and Drem station is a five to ten minute cycle away. It is only a few miles from the Brand Family Larder at East Fortune, so the two can be visited together. Ask which vegetables are grown locally.

Fenton Barns Farm Shop & Café: website and opening hours.

The Brand Family Larder

Map and location

The Farmhouse, East Fortune Farm, East Fortune, North Berwick, East Lothian EH39 5BT. View The Brand Family Larder on the map.

Contact: 01620 880 790.

Four generations of Brands at East Fortune Farm

The Brand family took on the tenancy of East Fortune Farm in 1931, and the farm has stayed with them since. Over the decades it has grown cereals, run market gardening and contracting, and reared cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry for the markets at East Linton, Haddington and Dalkeith. Livestock returned to the farm in 2010, and the family now breeds award-winning Hampshire Down sheep, keeps Saddleback pigs and a free-range flock of hens, and grows some fruit and vegetables. Jane Brand runs the business, with three generations living and working on the farm.

Brand's Family Larder opened in 2018, next to Merryhatton Garden Centre. It sells the farm's own pork and lamb, home-cured bacon, sausages, chops and roasts, and eggs collected each morning, along with food from more than 30 local producers. Those named on its website include Yester Farm Dairies, Bakery Andante, IJ Mellis cheese, Findlater's Fine Foods and Russell & Atwell chocolates, plus logs and kindling.

Visiting and buying

The larder's website lists opening hours of 10am to 4pm, Monday to Sunday, although a banner on the same page gives 9am openings from Monday to Saturday, so ring 01620 880 790 to confirm. The online shop is closed for delivery and click and collect; phone the office to order for collection. East Fortune is between Haddington and North Berwick, only a few miles from Fenton Barns, so the two combine well. Ask which cuts that week are from the farm's own animals.

The Brand Family Larder: website and opening hours.

Carfrae Farm Shop

Map and location

Carfrae Farm, near Gifford, East Lothian, EH41 4LP. View Carfrae Farm Shop on the map.

Contact: 07709 752871.

A converted barn shop near the Lammermuirs

The Gibson family has owned Carfrae Farm, in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills near Gifford, since 1933. The third generation now manages the 830 acres, with the second still involved and the fourth learning the work. The farm grows wheat, barley, oats, oilseed rape and peas, and cattle and sheep graze there in summer. It includes 130 acres of woodland and Danskine Loch, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and runs a wind turbine and a biomass boiler fuelled by its own timber.

The farm shop opened in 2022 in a converted barn and was highly commended as Best Village Shop in Scotland at the 2024 Countryside Alliance Awards. It stocks local and Scottish produce, including bakery, dairy, deli, fish, fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs and ready meals, with makers such as Stoats and Company Bakery, and a zero-waste refill section. There is a picnic area, the Snug with a wood-burning stove, and hampers to order.

Visiting and buying

The farm shop's own website gives opening hours of every day, 9.30am to 5pm, for 2026. An older Visit East Lothian listing gives Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, so check before visiting on a Monday. Carfrae is on minor roads south of Haddington, close to Gifford and Danskine Loch, so it makes a good stop on a walk or drive in the Lammermuirs. Most of the food comes from other producers, since the farm itself is mainly arable, so ask which items are from local farms.

Carfrae Farm Shop: 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.

Farm shops and local food in Midlothian

For Midlothian we could confirm two places to buy local food direct, so they are listed here alongside East Lothian.

Springfield Farm Meats

Springfield Farm, Springfield Road, Penicuik EH26 8PR. View Springfield Farm Meats on the map. Contact: 07540 069265.

Run by the Brown family, Springfield sells outdoor-reared beef, lamb and pork, all reared on its own farm, sold locally and direct. It was a finalist in the Artisan Food category of the Scottish Rural Awards 2019. You can order ahead and collect, with free local delivery.

Opening: No fixed hours: phone before you go, or come to one of the farm’s monthly open mornings (dates on its Facebook page).

Springfield Farm Meats: website and details.

The Market at Dalkeith Country Park

Outside Restoration Yard, Dalkeith Country Park, Dalkeith EH22 1ST. View The Market at Dalkeith Country Park on the map.

A monthly market showcasing Lothian and Scottish producers, with produce, food, drink, crafts and plants. Dogs are welcome.

Opening: Third Saturday of the month, 10am to 3pm. The next market is Saturday 21 November 2026.

The Market at Dalkeith Country Park: website and details.

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

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 List

Harvest Checker

Compare your visit with dates confirmed by the grower. This does not check live stock.

Use Harvest Checker

Use 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

• Gosford Bothy Farm Shop , official website
• Gosford Bothy Farm Shop , Visit East Lothian
• East Coast Organics , contact and opening hours
• East Coast Organics , our farm
• Fenton Barns Farm Shop , farm shop page
• Fenton Barns Farm Shop , contact and find us
• The Brand Family Larder , farm shop page
• The Brand Family Larder , about us
• Carfrae Farm , official website
• Carfrae Farm Shop , shop website
• Belhaven Smokehouse , smokehouse shop
• Visit East Lothian , farm shops and delis

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.