From the jaw-dropping coastline to eclectic attractions, people come to Cornwall for all manner of reasons. However one of the county’s best gems is undoubtedly the food and, whether you like fine dining in suave restaurants or a pasty on the beach at sunset, Cornwall delivers.
If you’d like to stock up on some of the best Cornish produce for your holiday, there’s no better place than a local farm shop. Head on over and stock up on delicious local meat, fresh seasonal vegetables and all manner of decadent treats to make your getaway even more enjoyable. Here are some of the best to explore on your next Cornish break…
1. Padstow Farm Shop
Best for: Pasta lovers
Padstow Farm Shop sells its own traditionally reared beef, lamb and homegrown vegetables along with a range of other products all sourced as locally as possible. And if the environment is a key concern for you, you’ll be pleased to learn that the farm shop is powered by an 11-kilowatt wind turbine. Plus, much of the land is in Countryside Stewardship; a scheme where no sprays or fertilisers are used.
Picking up goodies here is a shopper’s paradise; take your time to peruse the award-winning farm shop, butchery and Roundhouse Deli in full. But whatever you do, don’t leave without picking up their signature Padstow Pasta. Made with homegrown durum wheat, we reckon it’s the best this side of Rome.
Visit: Padstow Farm Shop, Trethillick Farm, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8HJ
Stay local: Treretherne Barn | Sleeps 5 | 7 nights from £574Image credit: Padstow Farm Shop Facebook
2. Trevilley Farm
Best for: Homemade goodies
Trevilley Farm just outside of Newquay has been run by the same family for five generations over 100 years and was voted Cornwall Life Best Independent Food Shop in 2010. Since then, the farm shop has gone from strength to strength.
They run a successful veg box scheme, but there is real joy to be had by visiting and selecting your own produce. Inside the shop you’ll find their own beef, lamb and vegetables as well as a range of meat from other Cornish suppliers. Our favourite? The shelves stocked with their own homemade jams, marmalades, chutneys and pickles, as well as delicious from-scratch breads, Cornish pasties and cakes. The latter is best enjoyed with a coffee (they do those too), sat outside in the sun on one of their picnic benches.
Visit: Trevilley Farm Shop, Trevilley Farm, Lane, Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4PX
Stay local: 2 Glendorgal | Sleeps 6 | 7 nights from £595
3. Lobbs Farm Shop
Best for: Fun events
If you're looking for a good range of meat, look no further than Lobbs Farm Shop near Heligan, St Austell. Supplied by its own three farms - Corran Farm, Lower Kestle Farm and Higher Kestle Farm - along with other local meat producers, the beef and lamb here is fully traceable having spent all of its life at their farms.
Alongside the meat counter there's a cheese counter and deli counter as well as seasonable vegetables, local wines and beers, preserves, store cupboard essentials and homemade frozen meals. Special occasion? Order a hamper made up of your favourite goodies. Lobbs Farm Shop also runs events throughout the year like pumpkin picking, tractor-trailer rides, crafts and fayres.
Visit: Lobbs Farm Shop Limited, Heligan, St Ewe, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN
Stay local: St Porth | Sleeps 7 | 7 nights from £990
4. Boscastle Farm Shop
Best for: Jaw-dropping views Image credit: Boscastle Farm Shop Facebook
Surrounded by National Trust Farmland and a stone’s throw from the coast path, when it comes to locations Boscastle Farm Shop is hard to beat. And while the shop is excellent for stocking up on home reared award-winning beef, lamb and pork (not to mention the homemade pies and cakes), if you want to really enjoy this spot you'll head to the cafe and enjoy food straight out of their coastal kitchen while soaking up the seriously good views.
If you’d like to work up an appetite first, explore one of their many beautiful nature rambles nearby. Wildlife lovers should pack their binoculars; you might spot grey seals at the cove below the shop or Peregrine falcons nesting in the cliffs.
Visit: Boscastle Farm Shop, Hillsborough Farm, Boscastle, Cornwall, PL35 0HH
Stay local: St Christopher's Cottage | Sleeps 4 | 7 nights from £484
5. Bosavern Community Farm
Best for: Community run wholesomeness
If you’re keen to shop at a not-for-profit Social Enterprise, look no further than Bosavern Farm. The 33.5-acre farm is nestled in the very western tip of Cornwall in St Just. Here a community of employees and volunteers grow food in a sustainable way and you buy it, along with other Cornish produce and artisan goods, in the onsite farm shop. Good for you, good for the local community.
Visit: Bosavern Community Farm, St Just, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 7RD
Stay local: Mackerel Sky | Sleeps 2 | 7 nights from £399
6. Trevallick’s Farm Shop
Best for: A Cornish cream tea
Like your shopping with a cream tea break? Head on down to Trevallick’s Farm Shop and Tearoom on the edge of Bodmin Moor and treat yourself to freshly made Cornish scones with Cornish cream and jam.
Once your belly is full, you’ll find an excellent range of local produce for sale in the farm shop. Ran by five sisters raised in a Cornish village, you’ll find their passion for the county and its produce is clear. They even taste test every single product themselves (well, someone has to do it). Along with the usual suspects you’ll find hampers, local artist crafts and every type of Cornish gin (we bet that was a fun tasting session).
Visit: Trevallick's Farm Shop, Caradon Farm, Pensilva, Liskeard, PL14 5PJ
Stay local: The Granary at Polwrath | Sleeps 6 | 7 nights from £1285
7. Etherington’s Farm Shop
Best for: Eco shopping
If you’re looking to stock up, head to Etherington’s Farm Shop set in an architecturally-stunning eco-building near Redruth in the heart of Cornwall. Along with the farm shop, you'll find Etherington’s Bakery (where their team of ‘Crimpetts’ hand-make some 1,000 pasties a day), a delicatessen, a range of fine wines, beers and gin along with a wide variety of presents and gifts from luxury chocolate to home wares.
Visit: Etherington’s Farm Shop, Wheal Rose, Scorrier, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 5DF
Stay local: Honeysuckle Cottage | Sleeps 4 | 7 nights from £416
8. Bailey's Country Store
Best for: A warm welcome!
Situated in the beautiful town of Penryn, Bailey's Country Store is a fantastic place to stop by and stock up on holiday supplies. The wonderful farm shop has lots of artisan products, including freshly baked bread, locally grown fruit and vegetables, free range local meats and eggs, Cornish cheese and plenty of sweet treats. They can also deliver to your holiday cottage, within a certain radius - you can order online or give them a call.
Visit: Bailey's Country Store, Unit 2 Eastwood Park, Eastwood Road, Penryn, TR10 8LA
Stay local: Tregenver Cottage | Sleeps 10 | 7 nights from £1494
Need somewhere to stay to try out some of these shops? Here are our self catering cottages in Cornwall.