Leicestershire’s farm shops are spread across the county. This guide compares five of them: Hill Top Farm Shop on the edge of Melton Mowbray, Stonehurst Farm at Mountsorrel in Charnwood, Manor Organic Farm at Long Whatton in north-west Leicestershire, Tomlinson’s Farm Shop at Stoke Golding near Hinckley, and Bridge 67 at Kibworth Beauchamp in Harborough district. Each sells something from its own farm, from organic vegetables to free-range chicken and suckler beef. 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 narrow the choice. Hill Top serves Melton and the Vale of Belvoir side of the county. Stonehurst is just off the A6 between Leicester and Loughborough. Manor Organic is close to the M1 and East Midlands Airport. Tomlinson’s is in the Bosworth countryside west of Hinckley, and Bridge 67 is on Kibworth’s high street, south-east of Leicester. For organic food, choose Manor Organic. For a day out with children, Stonehurst’s farm park is the obvious pick. Go to Tomlinson’s for poultry and Bridge 67 for beef and lamb from the owners’ own herd.
Opening days vary widely. Manor Organic opens only Thursday to Saturday. Bridge 67 is closed on Sundays and Mondays, and Tomlinson’s on Mondays. Hill Top opens seven days a week. Check before a long drive, and order Christmas meat and poultry early, because these small farms sell out.
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.
- Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe , Farm shop, butchery and café near Melton
- Stonehurst Family Farm , A Duffin family farm since 1951
- Manor Organic Farm , Soil Association organic farm at Long Whatton
- Tomlinson's Farm Shop , Christmas poultry at Stoke Golding since 1943
- Bridge 67 Butchers , Kibworth farm-to-fork butcher and deli
Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe
Map and location
St Bartholomew's Way, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 3JH. View Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe on the map.
Contact: 01664 813987.
Melton farm views, home-reared lamb and a butchery
Hill Top sits on a working farm at Welby, on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray. Martin Brown has lived on the farm almost all his life. He opened the café and farm shop because he felt the views from the hilltop should be shared. The shop opened in 2020 and has since won several awards. An in-house butchery opened in spring 2024. It sells home-reared lamb from the farm, alongside meat from other farms around Leicestershire.
The shop stocks a wide range of locally sourced food. Producers named on its website and by Visit Leicester include Melton Gin, Grimston honey, Faye’s Fudge, Round Corner Brewing, flour from Whissendine Windmill and Manor Farm Yogurt. The café serves breakfast, lunch, cakes, morning coffee and afternoon tea, and welcomes families and dogs. A Potting Shed sells seasonal plants and cut flowers, and there is a play barn. Hampers are sold from November to Christmas.
Visiting and buying
The website lists shop hours of Monday to Saturday 9am to 4.30pm and Sunday 9am to 4pm. The café is open 8am to 4pm every day, with last food orders at 3.30pm (3pm on Sundays). The contact page gives St Bartholomew’s Way as the address, but the footer says Nottingham Road. Use the LE14 3JH postcode, and check the route if you are unsure. Lamb is the meat reared on the farm itself, so ask the butchery what else is home-reared that week.
Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe: website and opening hours.
Stonehurst Family Farm
Map and location
Bond Lane, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, LE12 7AA. View Stonehurst Family Farm on the map.
Contact: 01509 413216.
Organic wheat, heritage breeds and farm-grown potatoes
Cyril and Florence Duffin took over Stonehurst in 1951 and began by selling milk and apples to local customers. The next generation, Greg and Marilyn Duffin, added the farm shop and opened the tearooms and motor museum in 1991. Siblings Tom, Emily and John Duffin now run the farm. It covers more than 400 acres across Stonehurst Farm in Mountsorrel and Woodside Farm in Quorn. The family keep Aberdeen Angus cattle, Leicester Longwool and Texel sheep, and Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spot pigs. They also grow organic wheat, potatoes and vegetables.
The farm shop sells potatoes, vegetables and other produce from the farm, along with fruit, milk and other local food. Bread comes in daily from the John’s House bakery, made with organic Wildfarmed wheat grown on the farm. Other stock includes jams and preserves, locally brewed beers and ciders, and wine chosen by the sommelier at John’s House restaurant. The Farmer’s Den Tea Shop serves homemade cakes, cream teas, hot food and light lunches.
Visiting and buying
The website gives farm opening hours of 9.30am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, plus Bank Holiday Mondays and Leicestershire school holidays. It does not list separate shop hours. You can visit the farm shop and tea shop without paying the farm park admission charge. Visit Leicester lists a Loughborough Road address, but the farm’s own website gives Bond Lane. Mountsorrel is just south of Loughborough, off the A6. Ask which vegetables and potatoes are from the farm that week.
Stonehurst Family Farm: website and opening hours.
Manor Organic Farm
Map and location
77 Main St, Long Whatton, Loughborough, LE12 5DF. View Manor Organic Farm on the map.
Contact: 01509 646413.
Certified organic meat, vegetables and home-grown grain
Manor Organic Farm is a family-run farm at Long Whatton, between Loughborough and the M1. It has supplied customers since 1989. Graeme and Vivienne arrived in 1995 and now work alongside Amy, James and Ralph. The Soil Association inspects and certifies the farm every year. The family keep pedigree Lleyn and Polled Dorset sheep, turkeys, chickens, geese and ducks, all free range and fed a fully organic diet. They grow wheat, rye and spelt, some of it for the on-site bakery, and organic vegetables. Since 1995 they have planted more than 1,800 trees and restored two miles of hedgerow.
The shop’s on-site butchery prepares organic, grass-fed and free-range meat: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, venison, sausages, burgers, dry-cured bacon and gammon. You can also buy organic fruit and vegetables (plastic-free where possible), bread from the bakery, dairy, eggs and wholefoods. It serves coffee and homemade cakes, and there is a micro farm where visitors can meet the animals. The farm delivers veg boxes and meat boxes locally on Wednesdays and nationwide on Fridays.
Visiting and buying
The farm shop page gives opening hours of Thursday 12pm to 5.30pm, Friday 10am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9am to 3pm. It is closed the rest of the week, so plan around those three days. The phone number comes from Visit Leicester. The farm’s website gives only an email address, james@manororganicfarm.co.uk. Long Whatton is a short drive from junction 24 of the M1. Not every item on the shelves is from the farm, so ask what the farm itself produced.
Manor Organic Farm: website and opening hours.
Tomlinson's Farm Shop
Map and location
Romerden Farm, Upton Lane, Stoke Golding, Nuneaton CV13 6EU. View Tomlinson's Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01455 212 199.
Free-range chicken and turkeys near Bosworth Field
Tomlinson’s is at Romerden Farm in Stoke Golding, in the countryside near Bosworth Battlefield. Garth Tomlinson’s family have farmed around Shenton and Dadlington for generations. His mother produced her first turkeys in 1943, and the family have raised Christmas poultry every year since. Garth took over in 1986. The farm later began raising free-range chickens all year round and selling them at farmers’ markets, at the farm gate and to other farm shops and butchers. The farm shop opened in 2005.
The family’s rule is that if they don’t produce something themselves, they buy it from other small local producers. Richard III Country lists Bronze turkeys, cockerels, chicken, beef, rare-breed pork, 21-day dry-aged Dexter beef and local lamb. The shop also sells the farm’s own sausages and burgers, plus cheese, milk, cream and farmhouse butter. You will also find bread, cakes, pork pies, vegetables and store-cupboard goods. You can order online and collect, and there is local delivery.
Visiting and buying
The farm’s website lists hours of Tuesday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm. The shop is closed on Mondays. The website has not been updated for some years, though camping reviews from 2025 mention the shop. Phone before you travel to check the hours. Stoke Golding is in Leicestershire despite its Nuneaton postcode, a few miles north-west of Hinckley. Order Christmas turkeys and geese early, and ask which meat that week is the farm’s own.
Tomlinson's Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Bridge 67 Butchers
Map and location
36 High Street, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicester, LE8 0HQ. View Bridge 67 Butchers on the map.
Contact: 0116 279 0088.
Beef and lamb from the Vickers family farm
Bridge 67 is a village shop rather than a shop on a farmyard. It sells meat from the family farm of its owners, John and Jill Vickers, at nearby Smeeton Westerby. Visit Leicester says the family have farmed in the area since the 1930s. John has worked on the farm for more than 40 years. They keep a suckler herd of 120 cows, crossing pedigree Limousin bulls with Simmental-cross cows, and 400 breeding sheep. They opened the shop in 2020. In 2025 the shop says it was named overall champion and received the Clarissa Dickson Wright Award, as the best rural food enterprise in the UK.
The counter sells beef and lamb from the farm, pork from a Leicestershire farm and other local meat. You can also buy sausages, pies and ready-to-cook dishes. The deli stocks eggs, British produce and a wide range of British cheeses. You can order online and collect in the shop, and there is free local delivery on Fridays. Staff can advise on cuts and cooking.
Visiting and buying
The shop’s website gives opening hours of Tuesday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 1pm. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Saturday closes at 1pm, so go early or order ahead. The shop is on Kibworth Beauchamp’s High Street, near the A6 south-east of Leicester. Christmas orders close in mid-December, so check the website for that year’s date. Ask which cuts are from the farm and which are bought in.
Bridge 67 Butchers: 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 Leicestershire?
Across the county, try Hill Top Farm Shop near Melton Mowbray, Stonehurst Farm at Mountsorrel, Manor Organic Farm at Long Whatton, Tomlinson’s Farm Shop at Stoke Golding and Bridge 67 at Kibworth Beauchamp. All five sell meat or crops from their own farms. Check opening days before you travel.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. Leicestershire 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
- Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe , contact and opening hours
- Hill Top Farm Shop & Cafe , farm shop page
- Hill Top Farm Shop , Visit Leicester
- Stonehurst Family Farm , About us
- Stonehurst Family Farm , Farm shop and visiting
- Manor Organic Farm , Farm shop and opening hours
- Manor Organic Farm , About us
- Manor Organic Farm Shop & Bakery , Visit Leicester
- Tomlinson's Farm Shop , official website
- Tomlinson's Farm Shop , Richard III Country
- Bridge 67 Butchers , About
- Bridge 67 Butchers , Contact and opening hours
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.