This guide compares five West Sussex farm shops spread across the county: Runcton Farm Shop on the coastal plain just outside Chichester, Cowdray Farm Shop on the Cowdray Estate at Midhurst, Charlie’s Farm Shop at Bury near Pulborough, Westons Farm Shop on the edge of Horsham, and Plaw Hatch Farm at Sharpthorne near East Grinstead. Each one grows or rears at least part of what it sells, 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?
West Sussex is long from east to west, so the nearest shop is usually the sensible one. Runcton is the choice in the south-west, a few minutes from Chichester, and is strongest on home-grown fruit and vegetables. Cowdray at Midhurst and Charlie’s at Bury both sit under the South Downs; Cowdray is best for estate beef, lamb and venison, and Charlie’s for raw milk and meat from its own dairy farm. In the north, Westons serves Horsham with its own beef, pork and lamb, while Plaw Hatch, near East Grinstead, suits anyone looking for biodynamic dairy, meat and vegetables from one mixed farm.
Opening days differ: Charlie’s closes on Mondays and Plaw Hatch closes on Sundays and bank holidays, while the others open seven days a week. Hours can change over Christmas and Easter, so check the shop’s own website or social media 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.
- Runcton Farm Shop , Over 40 home-grown crops near Chichester
- Cowdray Farm Shop , Estate beef, lamb and venison at Midhurst
- Charlie’s Farm Shop , A South Downs dairy farm at Bury
- Westons Farm Shop , Home-reared beef, pork and lamb near Horsham
- Plaw Hatch Farm , Biodynamic mixed farm near East Grinstead
Runcton Farm Shop
Map and location
Lagness Road, Runcton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 1LJ. View Runcton Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01243 787847.
A family farm growing more than 40 crops
Simon and his father Ken took over the farm shop and pick-your-own at Runcton from Frampton’s in 1984. At first it was a small shop selling local and home-grown produce, with pick-your-own in the summer. For years the farm also grew strawberries for supermarkets, but in the early 2000s it stopped and widened its range of fruit and vegetables so it could supply the shop all year. Today the farm grows more than 40 crops through the year, and the shop says all of them are sold there. In October its list includes kale, chard, beetroot, spinach, runner beans, plums, greengages and apples.
Alongside its own crops the shop buys from more than 70 local suppliers, and it has been extended twice to add a butchery and a delicatessen that also makes sandwiches. A pet food warehouse opened next door in 1998, selling feed and bedding for animals from dogs to poultry and horses. The Runcton Farm Cafe opened in 2020 and serves breakfasts, lunches, cakes and scones made from scratch, using as much of the farm’s produce as it can.
Visiting and buying
The farm shop’s website lists opening hours of Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. The café opens Tuesday to Sunday; its closing time is given slightly differently on different pages, and last food orders are an hour before closing, so check before going for lunch. Runcton is a short drive south-east of Chichester, towards the coast. Ask which fruit and vegetables have come from the farm’s own fields that week, and check the website for pick-your-own dates.
Runcton Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Cowdray Farm Shop
Map and location
Cowdray Farm Shop & Café, Cowdray Park, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 0AJ. View Cowdray Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01730 815152.
Meat reared and stalked on the Cowdray Estate
Cowdray Farm Shop is on the Cowdray Estate, which covers 16,000 acres around Midhurst in the South Downs, more than a third of it woodland. The estate’s home farm, Moor Farm, manages its dairy, arable and livestock. According to the shop, its estate beef is reared at Cowdray Home Farms, including beef from dairy cows turned out to pasture after milking and Wagyu raised on the estate. The lamb is grass-fed Romney cross, reared on Cowdray land on the South Downs by Andy Hodgkins, and the venison comes from wild fallow and roe deer stalked on the estate.
The traditional butchery counter is known for its award-winning sausages and also sells pork from Plantation Pigs, a free-range piggery on the South Downs, and poultry from Creedy Carver in Devon. Elsewhere in the shop there are seasonal fruit and vegetables, deli cheeses and charcuterie, flowers from local florist Verdley Flowers, Cowdray Kitchen ready meals and store-cupboard goods. The café’s team does its own baking, making pies, quiches, cakes and cookies on site.
Visiting and buying
Cowdray’s website lists farm shop hours of Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sunday 9am to 5pm. The café opens Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 9am to 5pm. The shop is on the edge of Midhurst, so it fits easily into a walk in Cowdray Park or a trip to the ruins. Ask at the counter which cuts are estate-reared that day, and order picnic hampers at least three days ahead.
Cowdray Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Charlie’s Farm Shop
Map and location
Charlie’s Farm Shop, Bury, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1NP. View Charlie’s Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01798 303989.
Raw milk from a three-generation Hughes family dairy
Charlie’s Farm Shop belongs to Southview Farm at Bury, at the foot of the South Downs between Pulborough and Arundel. The Hughes family have milked cows here for three generations, and the farm describes itself as one of the only traditional dairy farms left in West Sussex. Charlie Hughes now runs the farm and Sarah Hughes manages the shop. The farm has bottled and sold raw milk since the early 1980s, and since 2012 the cows have been milked by two robots, so each cow can choose when to be milked. Beef, rose veal and milk-fed pork are reared on the farm.
The farm’s raw milk can only be bought from the shop, and the dairy shelves also carry cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream. There is an on-site butchery selling the farm’s own meat, with lamb, poultry and game bought in as locally as possible, and a mobile fish stall. The rest of the shop covers fruit and vegetables, fresh eggs, bread and cakes, deli pies and cold meats, chutneys and sauces, frozen ready meals, wines and beers.
Visiting and buying
Charlie’s website lists opening hours of Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, and the shop is closed on Mondays. Bury is a short drive from Pulborough or Arundel and makes a good stop before or after a walk on the Downs. Bring a cool bag if you plan to buy raw milk or meat, and ask which cuts in the butchery come from the farm’s own herd.
Charlie’s Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Westons Farm Shop
Map and location
Westons Farm Shop, Weston's Hill, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 0BD. View Westons Farm Shop on the map.
Contact: 01403 791228.
A Victorian model farm now farmed by the Exwoods
Westons was built as a model Victorian farm from around 1870, on land that had been farmed for centuries before. It is now a family-run farm, established in 1989, within two miles of Horsham and next to the Downs Link path. The Exwood family started with 100 acres and, with their landlords’ support, now farm more than 1,000 hectares. The main focus is beef, mostly dairy beef, along with a small suckler herd of Sussex cattle, a flock of sheep and pigs. The arable side grows wheat, oats, barley, oilseed rape, beans and maize, and the farm says it has been insecticide-free since 2018.
The farm shop opened in 2003. Its butchery sells the farm’s own beef, pork and lamb, with more fresh meat from S.K. Hutchings, a family-run local butcher, and fish from Brighton Fish. A greenhouse on the farm supplies the shop, and most other fruit, vegetables and herbs come from local growers. Sussex names on the shelves include Weald Smokery, High Weald Dairy, Albourne Estate, Plumpton, Long Man, West Sussex Honey and Horsham Coffee Roaster. There is also a coffee corner serving hot and cold drinks.
Visiting and buying
Westons’ website gives opening hours of Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm and Sunday and bank holidays 10am to 4pm, and it points to its Facebook page for regular updates. The farm is just outside Horsham, near Itchingfield and beside the Downs Link, so cyclists and walkers can stop on the way past. Ask which meat is from the farm’s own cattle, sheep and pigs, and order Christmas meat early through the website.
Westons Farm Shop: website and opening hours.
Plaw Hatch Farm
Map and location
Plawhatch Lane, Sharpthorne, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4JL. View Plaw Hatch Farm on the map.
Contact: 01342 810201.
A community-owned biodynamic farm by Ashdown Forest
Plaw Hatch Farm is a 200-acre community-owned farm on the edge of Ashdown Forest near Sharpthorne, owned by a charitable trust and farmed biodynamically for about forty years. It also farms around 500 acres of tenanted land within twelve miles of the main site. This is a mixed farm with a dairy herd, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and laying hens, and a 12-acre garden that grows seasonal fruit and vegetables in polytunnels and fields. The cows are milked at 4pm each day, and the farm says visitors are welcome to watch.
The shop is best known for its raw milk, along with raw cream, kefir, raw cheeses and yoghurts made from the farm’s own milk. It sells its own and local beef, lamb and pork, all biodynamic or organic, plus organic chicken, eggs delivered daily and fleeces and knitting wool from its own flock. Bread and pastries come from several local bakers, and the pantry stocks organic wines, beers, dried goods and local honey. A coffee barn serves barista coffee and homemade cakes.
Visiting and buying
Plaw Hatch’s website lists farm and shop hours of Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm, and it is closed on Sundays and bank holidays. The coffee barn’s hours are listed as 9am to 4pm, although one page says it opens Tuesday to Saturday, so check before you go. Hours change over Easter and Christmas. In summer the farm track closes from 3pm to 6pm for milking, but the shop and car park stay open. Ask which vegetables are from the farm garden that week.
Plaw Hatch 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 West Sussex?
Good West Sussex farm shops include Runcton Farm Shop near Chichester, Cowdray Farm Shop at Midhurst, Charlie’s Farm Shop at Bury near Pulborough, Westons Farm Shop near Horsham and Plaw Hatch Farm at Sharpthorne near East Grinstead. All five grow or rear some of what they sell.
Are all these farms in the same town?
No. West Sussex 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
- Runcton Farm Shop , About us
- Runcton Farm Shop , Get in touch
- Cowdray Farm Shop , Cowdray Estate
- Cowdray Farm Shop , Butchery
- Charlie’s Farm Shop , About us
- Charlie’s Farm Shop , Our farm
- Westons Farm Shop , The farm
- Westons Farm Shop , The shop
- Plaw Hatch Farm , The shop
- Plaw Hatch Farm , Opening hours
- Farm shops in Sussex , Discover Sussex
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.