This guide compares four Surrey farm shops run by growing families, spread from the north of the county to the south and east. Secretts is at Milford, just south of Godalming. Kingfisher Farm Shop is at Abinger Hammer, between Guildford and Dorking in the Surrey Hills. Priory Farm is at Nutfield, near Redhill, and Garsons is at Esher in the north of the county. Each has a long farming history, 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?
Your best choice depends mostly on where you start. Secretts sits just off the A3 at Milford, so it suits Godalming, Guildford and anyone heading south towards the Sussex border; it is strongest for home-grown salad leaves and vegetables and a large cheese counter. Kingfisher, at Abinger Hammer, is an easy stop between Guildford and Dorking and is the place for Surrey-grown watercress. Priory Farm at Nutfield serves Redhill, Reigate and Tandridge, with a full butchery and several cafés. Garsons at Esher is closest for Elmbridge, Kingston and south-west London, and is best known for its large pick-your-own farm.
All four are working businesses with their own growing history, but none of them grows everything it sells. Seasonal gaps are filled from other farms and suppliers, so ask at the counter which items come from the farm itself that week. Opening hours change around bank holidays, Christmas and events, so check the shop’s own website before a long journey.
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.
- Secretts , A Milford growing farm since the 1930s
- Kingfisher Farm Shop , Watercress grown at Abinger Hammer since 1854
- Priory Farm , Shinner family farm at Nutfield since 1957
- Garsons Esher , An Esher growing family since 1871
Secretts
Map and location
Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, Surrey, GU8 5HU. View Secretts on the map.
Contact: 01483 520500.
Salad leaves and vegetables grown at Hurst Farm
The Secrett family have farmed at Hurst Farm in Milford since the late 1930s. Charles Secrett returned to run the business in the mid-1970s when his father became ill, and in the late 1970s the family turned the farm’s original workhorse stables into a farm shop. His son Greg now manages the farm. Secretts still grows salad leaves, baby carrots and beetroot from a mix of hybrid and heritage seed, as well as unusual vegetables such as celtuce for London chefs. The farm says it sells around 1.2 tonnes of salad leaves a week, and runs pick-your-own events such as pumpkin picking in autumn.
The farm shop sells home-grown seasonal produce alongside artisan food and drink from small independent producers, with imported vegetables filling seasonal gaps. It has what it describes as one of Surrey’s largest cheese counters, fresh dishes from its own production kitchen, and an on-site ethical butcher, Black Barn, which stocks rare-breed and free-range meat. Other businesses on site include Little Fish Sushi and Eliza’s Tearoom, plus a florist, wine merchant and gift shop.
Visiting and buying
The Secretts website gives farm shop hours as Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm, and Sunday and bank holidays 10am to 4pm, with separate hours over Easter. Secretts is just off the A3 at the Milford junction, south of Godalming, so it is an easy run from Guildford. There is free parking, with disabled bays in front of the shop entrance. Dogs are not allowed in the shop or pick-your-own areas. Ask which salads and vegetables were picked on the farm that week.
Secretts: website and opening hours.
Kingfisher Farm Shop
Map and location
Watercress beds, Abinger Hammer, Surrey RH5 6AG. View Kingfisher Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01306 730703.
Home-grown watercress from Abinger Hammer spring water
Kingfisher is a family business with a long history in Abinger Hammer. The family have grown watercress here since 1854, in natural running spring water that provides the nutrients the crop needs without fertilisers or insecticides. They grow the watercress from seed by hand and cut it by hand too. The family began selling fruit and vegetables in 1971, and in 1999 they downsized the watercress operation and expanded the shop. Marion, who grew up with the shop and became a partner in 2003, now runs it with the family.
The shop sells its own watercress in store, online and wholesale, alongside fruit and vegetables, veg boxes, bread delivered daily, dairy and eggs, meat and fish, a deli, and store-cupboard goods. It stocks British wines, beers and spirits, local gelato, hampers and gifts. There is also a flower shop, which works with local flower farms and the British flower market, plus garden plants, compost and firewood. Ringden Farm apples are among the named products.
Visiting and buying
The Kingfisher website gives farm shop hours as Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. The flower shop keeps the same weekday hours but is closed on Sundays. The shop is in the village of Abinger Hammer, roughly midway between Guildford and Dorking, so it makes an easy stop on a Surrey Hills walk or drive. Watercress is the crop grown here; ask which other items come from nearby farms.
Kingfisher Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Priory Farm
Map and location
Priory Farm Estate, Sandy Lane, Nutfield, Redhill, RH1 4EJ. View Priory Farm on the map.
Contact: 01737 823304.
From pick-your-own strawberries to a full farm shop
John and Wendy Shinner bought Priory Farm in 1957. It began as a mixed farm with sheep, cereals, broiler chickens and pigs, and the first acre of pick-your-own strawberries went in in 1969. By the 1990s the farm grew more than 25 fruits and vegetables for picking, including cherries, raspberries, plums, asparagus, runner beans and pumpkins. Their son Anthony opened the farm shop in April 1992, and third-generation Jeremy led the redesign of the butchery and deli, finished in 2021. The 150-acre estate takes in pasture, ancient woodland and lakes, and still grows crab apples, pumpkins and squashes.
The shop has fruit and vegetables, cheese, a deli, bakery, fish and a butchery counter selling free-range beef, pork, lamb, poultry and game, some of it from the estate, plus sausages made on site. Named suppliers include Chalk Hills Bakery, which started in the estate’s Old Tractor Shed, Trenchmore Farm for beef, Sussex Charmer and Cheese on the Wey cheeses, and Surrey drinks from Silent Pool, Albury Vineyard and Pilgrim Brewery.
Visiting and buying
The Priory Farm website gives Farm Shop and Gift Barn hours as Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm, and Sundays and bank holidays 10.30am to 4.30pm. It is closed on Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Parking is free. Nutfield station is just over a mile away, and Redhill is about five minutes’ drive. There are several cafés on site. Ask at the butchery counter which game comes from the estate.
Priory Farm: website and opening hours.
Garsons Esher
Map and location
Winterdown Road, West End, Esher, Surrey KT10 8LS. View Garsons Esher on the map.
Contact: 01372 460 181.
A 150-acre pick-your-own farm with a farm shop
Garsons has been family-run since it began growing in 1871, and once supplied fresh crops to Borough Market in London. Today the Esher site is a farm shop, garden centre and restaurant, alongside Garson Farm, more than 150 acres of fruit, vegetable and flower fields. Garson Farm describes itself as one of the largest pick-your-own farms in the UK, open from early summer through autumn, and it has won Pick Your Own of the Year at the Farm Retail Association awards. The business also has a second site at Titchfield in Hampshire.
The farm shop sells fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and deli, bakery, honey and store-cupboard goods, with local and artisan produce from Surrey, Hampshire and further afield. Meat comes from two butchers on site, Bevan’s Butchers and Owton’s Butchers and Deli, and Weyfish runs the fish counter at Esher. The restaurant is on the same site, so it is easy to combine shopping with lunch.
Visiting and buying
The Garsons website gives Esher opening hours as Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm, with doors open from 10.30am for browsing on Sundays; these are listed for the Esher site as a whole. The 2026 pick-your-own season has now ended and reopens in early summer, so check the website for dates and booking. Esher is in the north of the county, handy for Kingston and south-west London. Ask which produce in the shop comes from Garson Farm.
Garsons Esher: 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 Surrey?
Good Surrey farm shops include Secretts at Milford near Godalming, Kingfisher Farm Shop at Abinger Hammer between Guildford and Dorking, Priory Farm at Nutfield near Redhill, and Garsons at Esher. Each grows some of its own produce, from watercress to salad leaves and pick-your-own fruit.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. Surrey 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
- Secretts , About
- Secretts , Opening hours
- Secretts , Visit us
- Kingfisher Farm Shop , Our family
- Kingfisher Farm Shop , Opening times
- Priory Farm , Our history
- Priory Farm , Farm shop
- Priory Farm , Visit
- Garsons , About us
- Garsons , Esher opening hours
- Garsons , The Farm Shop
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.