The orchards came first. Hawarden Estate Farm Shop sells fruit from twenty acres of pick-your-own in Flintshire, fifteen minutes from Chester, and those acres were cropping when the shop was still a wooden shack standing beside them in the 1980s. Charlie and Caroline Gladstone later replaced the original shack with the much larger Farm Shop, built from larch grown on their Scottish estate, Glen Dye. It brought together a butchery, deli, café and food hall, with an on-site bakery following later. The butchery is the part people drive for. Meat is traditionally butchered by the team behind the counter rather than arriving ready cut, although the meat itself is sourced from trusted suppliers rather than necessarily being reared on the estate. Bread is baked on site, and Hawarden has even grown YQ grain beside the shop for the bakery. The estate's historic Walled Garden, a few hundred yards up the road, was brought back into production and what it grows is sold in the shop and cooked in the café, a menu Damian Clisby helped rework so that more of it comes off the estate. Beyond what they grow and make themselves, the aim is to source as close to the estate as is feasibly possible, although some products come from further afield. Pick-your-own runs through the summer and into autumn, with fruit through the warmer months and pumpkins at the end of the season. There is also an Explorer Trail through the orchards, woodland, vegetable patches and wild fields around the Farm Shop, with maps and children's activity packs available from the shop. The Glynne Arms in the village and the Walled Garden School are part of the same estate, and the Farm Shop campsite is close by. This is a farm shop with orchards you can actually walk into and pick from, which is a different proposition entirely from a run of the mill farm shop.

What do you sell?

A full food hall rather than a gift shop with a fridge. The butchery counter is at the centre of it, with meat traditionally butchered on the premises. Alongside it sit a deli counter, an on-site bakery and a café. Seasonal fruit and vegetables come from the estate's own orchards, fields and Walled Garden. The shelves carry the usual range of a good food hall, including cheese, beer, cider and wine, preserves and store cupboard goods, alongside homewares and gifts. Through the summer and into autumn, the orchards and fields open for pick-your-own, finishing with pumpkins in the autumn.

Which local producers do you stock?

The first supplier is the estate itself. Fruit comes from twenty acres of orchards that have been cropping since the 1980s, while vegetables and other produce come from the historic Walled Garden a few hundred yards from the shop. Hawarden has also grown YQ grain beside the Farm Shop for use in its own bakery. Meat is traditionally butchered on the premises, although it is sourced from trusted suppliers rather than necessarily being reared on the estate. Beyond what Hawarden grows and makes itself, the aim is to source as close to the estate as is feasibly possible, while some products are sourced from further afield across the UK.

Opening Hours / Delivery Days

Please check the website for latest opening hours. They are generally: Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm Saturday: 8.30am to 5pm Sunday: 9am to 5pm Pick-your-own is seasonal and weather dependent, so check before travelling specifically for it.

Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/hawardenestate

Website

https://www.hawardenestate.co.uk/businesses/farm-shop

Address Summary

Hawarden, Flintshire, CH5 3FB