This guide compares five Somerset farm shops spread from the coast to the Wiltshire border: Rich’s Cider Farm at Watchfield near Highbridge on the Somerset Levels, Rumwell Farm Shop just west of Taunton, Barleymows Farm Shop on the edge of Chard, Kimber’s Farm Shop at Charlton Musgrove near Wincanton, and White Row Farm at Beckington near Frome. Each one sells some food from its own land, 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?
Somerset is a long county and these shops are well spread. Rich’s at Watchfield is a short hop from junction 22 of the M5 and suits anyone on the Levels or the coast near Burnham-on-Sea. Rumwell sits on the A38 just outside Taunton and is the fullest food hall, with its own beef, pork, eggs and potatoes. Barleymows serves Chard and the Blackdown Hills side of south Somerset, with its own beef and lamb. Kimber’s, east of Wincanton near the A303, is the one for grass-fed beef and rare-breed pork from a long-established family farm. White Row, on the A36 at Beckington, suits Frome and the east of the county.
If you want cider and apple juice pressed on the farm, go to Rich’s. For a weekly shop with a butcher, bakery and café under one roof, Rumwell, Barleymows and White Row are the best fits. Kimber’s is also worth knowing for its online butchery and its Saturday stalls at farmers’ markets in Bath and Shaftesbury.
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.
- Rich’s Cider Farm , Farmhouse cider pressed at Watchfield since 1954
- Rumwell Farm Shop , The Mitchell family’s farm shop near Taunton
- Barleymows Farm Shop , The Burrough family’s farm shop at Chard
- Kimber’s Farm Shop , A family stock farm at Charlton Musgrove
- White Row Farm , Home-reared pork and vegetables near Frome
Rich’s Cider Farm
Map and location
Rich’s Cider Farm, Watchfield, Highbridge, Somerset, TA9 4RD. View Rich’s Cider Farm on the map.
Contact: 01278 783 651.
Traditional farmhouse cider on the Somerset Levels since 1954
Rich’s Cider was established in 1954, when Gordon Rich began pressing cider apples at Mill Farm. It is still a family-run working farm at Watchfield, on the flat land of the Somerset Levels between Highbridge and Mark. The farm makes traditional farmhouse cider and farm-pressed apple juice from apples harvested locally in Somerset, and the family says that, although much has changed since the 1950s, the way the juice is made remains essentially traditional. Visitors can taste the ciders before they buy, which is the best way to choose between the sweeter and drier styles.
Alongside the cider, the farm shop stocks Somerset food chosen by the business. Butchery meat comes from Pyne’s of Somerset and fresh bread from Winnie’s Bakery, and there are local cheeses, jams and lemonade. There is also a 70-seat restaurant serving home-cooked food made with local produce, with vegetarian and allergy-aware options; bookings are taken on a separate number, 01278 794 537. The site is designed to be accessible and has won an award for disability access.
Visiting and buying
The farm shop website says Rich’s is open daily: Monday to Thursday 10am to 5pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm. Dogs are welcome in the outside seating area but not inside the buildings. The farm is only a few minutes from the M5 at Highbridge, so it makes an easy stop on a journey to or from the West Country. Ask which ciders and juices are pressed from this season’s apples, and which shop items are from other local producers.
Rich’s Cider Farm: website and opening hours.
Rumwell Farm Shop
Map and location
Rumwell Farm Shop, Rumwell, Near Taunton, Somerset, TA4 1EJ. View Rumwell Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01823 461599.
Home-grown potatoes, Aberdeen Angus beef and outdoor pork
Rumwell Farm Shop began as a potato store, where David and Anne Mitchell sold their potatoes and free-range eggs at the farm gate. Customers asked for more, and the shop grew from there; it marked its 25th anniversary in 2022 with two Taste of the West awards, one for the shop and one for the café. The family, including sons James and Jack, farms at Hillcommon and Bradford on Tone. Aberdeen Angus cattle graze beside the River Tone in summer, pigs are reared outdoors and farrowed in the field, hens range under apple trees, and the farm grows its own potatoes, wheat, barley and maize.
The shop has a food hall, butchery, bakery and deli, a jam kitchen and a gluten-free kitchen, along with food to go, gifts and plants. Celebration cakes can be ordered from the bakery. The café serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and tables can be booked. Because the farm grows the grain that feeds its cattle, pigs and hens, the beef, pork and eggs are the clearest examples of food that comes straight from the family’s own land.
Visiting and buying
The shop website gives these hours for the shop and food to go: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday 8.30am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. The café opens at the same times on weekdays and Saturdays, and from 9am to 4pm on Sundays. Rumwell is on the western edge of Taunton, so it is easy to reach from the town and from the M5. Ask at the butchery counter which cuts are from the family farm, and look out for the home-grown potatoes in autumn.
Rumwell Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Barleymows Farm Shop
Map and location
Barleymows Farm Shop, Snowdon Hill Farm, Chard, Somerset TA20 3PS. View Barleymows Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01460 62130.
From a meat box scheme to farm shop
Barleymows started by selling meat from the family farm through a box scheme. As the scheme grew, the Burrough family built the farm shop from scratch, opening in July 2002, and added a restaurant about six years later. Martin, Rose, Tom and Adam now run the farm and shop together. Snowdon Hill Farm is a mixed beef, sheep and arable farm on the edge of Chard. It also keeps chickens that lay the eggs sold in the shop and grows Christmas trees. Since 2012 an anaerobic digester has made the farm self-sufficient in electricity.
The butchers counter sells fresh meat from the farm, including its own beef, and turkeys and festive meat can be ordered for Christmas. The kitchens make sausage rolls, pâté and other deli foods on site, and there is cheese, fresh vegetables, drinks, free-from food, hampers and gifts. Where the farm does not produce something itself, the family says it is sourced from within 25 miles, or otherwise as locally as possible. There is a licensed restaurant and café, and Roses Florist trades on site.
Visiting and buying
The Barleymows website gives opening hours of Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6pm, and Sundays and bank holidays 8.30am to 4pm. The café closes at 5pm, with last hot food orders at 3pm, and there is outdoor seating. Chard is in the far south of Somerset, close to the Devon and Dorset borders, so Barleymows also suits visitors heading for Lyme Regis. Ask which beef and lamb is from the family’s own farm that week.
Barleymows Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Kimber’s Farm Shop
Map and location
Kimber’s Farm Shop, Linley Farm, Charlton Musgrove, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 8HD. View Kimber’s Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01963 33177.
Grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef and Gloucester Old Spot pork
Paul and Ruth Kimber have farmed at Charlton Musgrove, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, since 1973, and the website says the family has farmed this land for around three centuries. Their son Tom, who studied agriculture at Reading, and son-in-law Danj work full time on the farm, while other members of the family help in the shop and at farmers’ markets. It is a mixed stock farm: cattle graze in summer and are fed home-grown wheat, maize and grass silage and meadow hay in winter, with no growth promoters used for any of the livestock.
The shop’s meat range includes grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef, Gloucester Old Spot pork, lamb, mutton, goat, free-range chicken and duck, veal and game, plus turkeys at Christmas. There are also dairy foods, eggs, groceries, deli foods, drinks, hampers and gifts. Meat can be ordered online for delivery across the UK. The Kitchen @ Kimbers is a bistro-style restaurant beside the shop with a covered outside terrace. The family also has stalls at Shaftesbury and Bath farmers’ markets.
Visiting and buying
The Kimber’s contact page lists shop hours of Tuesday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 4.30pm. Sunday and Monday are not listed, so treat those as closed unless the shop says otherwise. The Kitchen @ Kimbers has its own website for menus. Charlton Musgrove is just north-east of Wincanton and close to the A303, so it is a useful stop on the road west. Ask which meat is from the Kimbers’ own herd and flock.
Kimber’s Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
White Row Farm
Map and location
White Row Farm, Standerwick Court, Beckington, Frome, Somerset BA11 6TN. View White Row Farm on the map.
Contact: 01373 830798.
A converted farrowing house selling its own pork
White Row Farm is a family-owned farm shop that has been selling Somerset food for more than 40 years. The family’s early aim was to produce as much as possible of what they sold, and that is still central to how the business works. The farm rears free-range pigs, a Large White crossed with Duroc and Landrace, and the pork is sold only through the farm’s own butchery. It also grows chemical-free seasonal vegetables, salads and herbs, and eggs are collected every morning. The farm shop opened in July 2000 in a converted farrowing house beside the A36.
A rural diversification grant in 2003 paid for a café, butchery and garden and gift shop. Today there is a butcher, a fishmonger, a deli counter, fruit and vegetables, a florist and gift shop, and a traditional fish and chip counter. The shop stocks food from more than 80 local makers, farmers and growers, including bread, milk and confectionery. The café serves seasonal menus, cakes and savouries, with a covered outdoor seating area.
Visiting and buying
White Row’s visit page says breakfast is served until 11.30am seven days a week and the café is open until 4pm daily, with lunch from 11.30am (12pm at weekends) and Sunday lunch from 12pm to 3pm. The full shop opening times are published as an image on the website’s opening-times page, so check that page or ring the shop before a special trip. The farm is just off the A36 roundabout at Beckington, a few miles north of Frome. Ask which vegetables and cuts are from the farm itself.
White Row Farm: 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 Somerset?
Good Somerset farm shops include Rich’s Cider Farm near Highbridge, Rumwell Farm Shop near Taunton, Barleymows Farm Shop at Chard, Kimber’s Farm Shop at Charlton Musgrove near Wincanton, and White Row Farm at Beckington near Frome. Each sells some meat, eggs, vegetables or cider from its own farm.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. Somerset 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
- Rich’s Cider Farm , farm shop page
- Rich’s Cider Farm , our story
- Rumwell Farm Shop , official website
- Rumwell Farm Shop , our farm
- Barleymows Farm Shop , official website
- Barleymows Farm Shop , about us
- Kimber’s Farm Shop , about us
- Kimber’s Farm Shop , contact and opening hours
- White Row Farm , about us
- White Row Farm , visit and service times
- White Row Farm , contact
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.