This guide compares five that grow, rear or press some of what they sell: Drove Orchards at Thornham on the north-west coast, A.G. Meale & Sons at Stalham near the Broads, Hirst’s Farm Shop at Ormesby St Margaret north of Great Yarmouth, the Goat Shed at Honingham just west of Norwich, and Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop at Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe in south Norfolk. The useful question is which one 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?
Drove Orchards sits on the A149 coast road between Thornham and Holme, an easy stop on a day out to Hunstanton or the north Norfolk coast, and is best for apples, pears and juice. A.G. Meale & Sons at Stalham suits anyone on the northern Broads and is strongest on its own vegetables, tomatoes and pick-your-own fruit. Hirst’s, a few miles north of Great Yarmouth, is the one for farm-reared lamb and beef and fresh fish. The Goat Shed is a short drive off the A47 west of Norwich and has the widest counters. Hillfield, off the B1136 between Hales and Haddiscoe, is the pick for fruit and apple juice.
If you want to pick your own, Hillfield runs from May to October and Meales grows strawberries, raspberries, plums and beans in season, but both may close crops at short notice when they are picked out, so check before you go. For a sit-down meal as well as shopping, the Goat Shed, Hirst’s and Meales all have their own cafés.
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.
- Drove Orchards Farm Shop , A Thornham fruit farm with 140 varieties
- A.G. Meale & Sons , A Stalham grower since 1934
- Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe , A four-generation family farm at Ormesby
- Goat Shed , From goat’s cheese to a Honingham farm shop
- Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop , A south Norfolk fruit farm since the 1980s
Drove Orchards Farm Shop
Map and location
Thornham Road, Thornham, Hunstanton PE36 6LS. View Drove Orchards Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01485 525652.
A century of farming and heritage orchards at Thornham
Drove Orchards is a working farm between Thornham and Holme on the north Norfolk coast, where the orchards run down towards the salt marsh. Archie Jamieson established the farm more than a century ago, and David Jamieson planted the first orchards in the 1950s. Today the farm grows more than 140 varieties of apples, pears, plums, cherries and quinces, has made its own ciders and juices for around 30 years, and has recently planted a vineyard. The farm is now run by Oscar Jamieson, who lives there with his family, and its cattle graze alongside restored wetland and grassland.
The farm shop is part of a small village of independent businesses at Drove, which also includes Gurney’s Fish, Eric’s Fish & Chips, Mim’s Gelato and The Old Store, so you can combine a food shop with lunch. The farm’s own fruit and juice are the reason to come: recent posts on the Drove site mention Drove pear juice back in the farm shop. Ask which fruit is from the orchards that week, as the range changes with the season.
Visiting and buying
The Drove Orchards website lists the site as open all day, every day, but the farm shop itself does not publish separate hours online, so ring 01485 525652 before a special trip. Drove is just off the A149 coast road, with plenty of parking; the nearest station is King’s Lynn, with buses or taxis onward. Autumn is the best time for apples and pears. It is on the far side of the county from Norwich, so it suits a day on the coast rather than a weekly shop.
Drove Orchards Farm Shop: website and contact details.
A.G. Meale & Sons
Map and location
A.G.Meale & Sons Ltd, Wayford Nurseries, Stalham, Norwich, Norfolk NR12 9LJ. View A.G. Meale & Sons on the map.
Contact: 01692 580226.
Home-grown vegetables and tomatoes on 260 acres
In 1934 Allen G. Meale bought a single acre at Stalham and set up Newland Nurseries, working the land by hand and keeping pigs and chickens. The business became A.G. Meale & Sons Ltd in 1965 and moved to Wayford in the early 1970s; locals simply call it ‘Meales’. The family now farms 260 acres, growing cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, sweetcorn, pumpkins, runner beans, sprouts, courgettes and squash, as well as cereals and sugar beet. Tomatoes are grown in the greenhouses on site from March to October.
The farm shop works on a simple rule: if it can sell what it grows itself, it does, and if not it buys from Norfolk suppliers. Alongside its own vegetables and tomatoes you will find potatoes in sacks or loose, Norfolk cheeses such as Fielding Cottage goat’s cheese, Norfolk White Lady and Mrs Temple’s, and cakes baked by Vera’s, the on-site coffee shop named after Allen Meale’s wife. There is also a plant house, garden centre and pick-your-own.
Visiting and buying
The opening times page lists the farm shop and plant centre as open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm (one heading on that page still says closed Sundays, so ring to check). Vera’s Coffee Shop is listed as open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 9am to 3.30pm; afternoon tea must be booked. Pick-your-own crops close when picked out, so check the website first and wear sturdy footwear. Stalham is about 15 miles north-east of Norwich.
A.G. Meale & Sons: website and opening hours.
Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe
Map and location
Mill Farm, North Rd, Ormesby St Margaret, Great Yarmouth NR29 3LE. View Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe on the map.
Contact: 01493 731980.
Marsh-grazed lamb and beef from the Hirst family farm
The Hirst family has farmed in Norfolk for four generations, and Rob Hirst and his parents, Katrina and Richard, have diversified the business. The farm grows wheat, barley, sugar beet, potatoes and salad greens, and keeps cattle, sheep and pigs, some of which you can see in the sheds beside the shop. When visitors walking the farm during the pandemic began asking for produce, the family started selling it, and in 2021 Rob’s grandfather, John Hirst, opened the farm shop and café. Its lamb and Aberdeen Angus beef graze the coastal marshes between Horsey and Winterton.
The shop sells fruit and vegetables from the farm’s own fields and other Norfolk farms, with other fruit and veg from the Norwich wholesaler McCarthy’s. The Dabs ‘n’ Crabs fish counter has wet fish, smoked fish and Cromer crabs. Named suppliers include Ye Old Bakery in Caister for bread, Dann’s ice cream, eggs from The Cluckery six miles away and Mrs Temple’s cheese. The café cooks with home-reared or locally sourced ingredients.
Visiting and buying
Hirst’s website lists opening times as Monday to Saturday 9am to 3.30pm and Sunday 9am to 3pm, with changes over Christmas and New Year, so it closes earlier than most. There is a large free car park, dogs are welcome indoors, and the café does not take bookings except for large groups, so ring 01493 731980 if you are planning around lunch. Ask which meat and vegetables are from the farm itself. Ormesby is a few miles north of Great Yarmouth and handy for the eastern Broads.
Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe: website and opening hours.
Goat Shed
Map and location
Goat Shed, Colton Road, Honingham NR9 5DJ. View Goat Shed on the map.
Contact: 01603 880685.
Award-winning goat’s cheese and a Simmental herd
The Goat Shed began in 2009 when founder Sam bought ten goats and started making goat’s cheese by hand in his kitchen sink. Big wins at the World Cheese Awards in 2014 put its Fielding Farm products on the map, and its Norfolk Mardler and Wensum White cheeses are now sold widely. During the pandemic, sales from a garden shed with an honesty box grew into a purpose-built farm shop, opened in February 2021. The farm now also cares for around 50 Simmental cattle grazing pastures within five miles, some of which provide beef for its own butchery.
The shop doubled in size in 2024 and now has deli, bakery and butchery counters alongside its own cheese and goat’s milk skincare, with regional food, drink and gifts from artisan producers. The Goat Shed Kitchen serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and cake every day, and there is a Maize Maze, animal paddock and a busy events calendar. Ask at the butchery which cuts come from the farm’s own herd.
Visiting and buying
The Goat Shed website lists the shop as open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday 9.30am to 4pm, including bank holidays, but closed on Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The Kitchen is listed as open Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm, with Sunday hours given slightly differently on different pages, so check if you are going for breakfast. Parking is free with electric charging points. Only assistance dogs are allowed in the shop. Honingham is just off the A47, a short drive west of Norwich.
Goat Shed: website and opening hours.
Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop
Map and location
Mill Lane, Thorpe-Next-Haddiscoe, Norwich NR14 6PA. View Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01508 548306.
Over 250 apple varieties and pick-your-own fruit
Hillfield is an independent, family-owned nursery and farm set on 40 acres of south Norfolk countryside, tucked down a lane off the B1136 between Hales and Haddiscoe. Its first farm shop opened on the site in the 1980s. The farm grows strawberries, raspberries, plums, gages, tayberries, gooseberries and currants, and its orchards hold more than 250 apple varieties. It presses its own Hillfield apple juice on site and also offers a pressing service for people with surplus garden apples. The nursery grows thousands of plants every year.
The farm shop sells fruit from Hillfield’s own fields and from specialist growers such as Sharrington, with vegetables and salad from local growers. Its freezers are filled by small local producers with beef, chicken, lamb, pork and game, and the dairy section has Norfolk cheeses and milk produced two miles away. The Willow, an independently run outdoor café under the farm’s weeping willow, serves hearty meals and home-cooked cakes.
Visiting and buying
Hillfield’s website lists opening hours as every day 9am to 5pm, open on bank holidays and closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day, adding that hours may vary through the year. The Willow café is listed as open Wednesday to Sunday 9am to 4pm. Pick-your-own runs from May to October; call at the farm shop first to have your containers weighed, and pay by weight with no entry fee. Ask which fruit is from Hillfield’s own fields. It lies south of Norwich and west of Lowestoft.
Hillfield Nursery & 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.
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 Norfolk?
Good choices include Drove Orchards Farm Shop at Thornham on the north-west coast, A.G. Meale & Sons at Stalham, Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe at Ormesby St Margaret, the Goat Shed at Honingham near Norwich, and Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop at Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe in south Norfolk.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. Norfolk 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
- Drove Orchards , Our Story
- Drove Orchards Farm Shop , official website
- A.G. Meale & Sons , About us
- A.G. Meale & Sons , Opening times
- Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe , About
- Hirst’s Farm Shop & Cafe , Our Produce
- Goat Shed , About
- Goat Shed , Contact and opening times
- Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop , The Farm Shop
- Hillfield Nursery & Farm Shop , Pick Your Own
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.