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    • It’s Pumpkin season on Castle Farm

      Posted on 19th September 2017 by

      kent-pumpkins-and-squashes

      The Hop Shop has a wonderful selection of farm-grown pumpkins now available! Harvested from our pumpkin patch on Castle Farm, we are known for growing some well-known favourites, such as Butternut Squash and Crown Prince, but also some more unusual varieties that you won’t find in the supermarkets, such as Rolet […]

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    • Castle Farm features in Selfridges & Net-A-Porter photoshoots

      Posted on 18th September 2017 by

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      Castle Farm was chosen as the location backdrop for Selfridges and NetA Porter to photoshoot their Autumn looks earlier this summer.. taking advantage of the varied landscape and fields we have in the Darenth Valley. They used the apple orchards, maize fields, harvest wheat fields, grassland and straw bales. The resulting […]

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    • Pick Your Own Apples at Castle Farm

      Posted on 22nd August 2017 by

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      Due to the hot weather in the Spring – we have experienced a flush of early ripening from our apples! For the first time ever we opened our orchard gates in August, but they will continue to be open on Fridays and weekends throughout September. Bring family and friends and enjoy picking straight from […]

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    • 2018 Calendar has arrived

      Posted on 8th August 2017 by

      Castle Farm Calendar cover 2018

      Our 2018 Castle Farm calendar has just landed! Filled with a collection of 12 beautiful photos from around Castle Farm and across the Darenth Valley. A year in the life of farming on our mixed arable acres in the English countryside. Wildlife photos, landscape images and of course, wonderful shots of our famous […]

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    • Lavender Harvest is now complete

      Posted on 3rd August 2017 by

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      After the weather playing havoc with our harvesting schedule this July, we are very happy to say our final load of Kentish Lavender is now in from the fields, and our beautiful high-grade Lavender and Lavandin Oils have now been distilled! But – if you missed out on this year’s […]

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    • Lavender Harvest 2017 is underway

      Posted on 26th July 2017 by

      Kentish Lavender Harvest at The Hop Shop

      Our Lavender Harvester is out working hard in our fields. We are already half way through our Kentish Lavender crop. Our final Lavender Tours of the season are running 29th / 30th July and these will take you right out into our last field of Lavender, and over to the […]

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    • Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year

      Posted on 18th July 2017 by

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      Landscape Artist of the Year 2017 by Sky Arts will be filming at The Hop Shop, Castle Farm on Tuesday 18th July! The selected artists will be competing in the semi-finals of the series by painting our beautiful Lavender fields in full bloom across the Darenth Valley. You are welcome to […]

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    • Introducing our new Coffee Cart

      Posted on 3rd July 2017 by

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      Introducing… The COFFEE Cart This year we have been busy lovingly converting an old Rice Horse Box into our band new Coffee Cart! Making a special appearance over the Summer months, The Coffee Cart will be offering freshly ground barista-made Coffees and speciality Hop Shop Teas – all for Take […]

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    • Watch our Lavender Season video

      Posted on 30th June 2017 by

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      Get a feel for everything that happens at The Hop Shop on Castle Farm over the Kentish Lavender season with our little video… We hope to see you soon!

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    • The Red Tractor Scheme

      Posted on 27th April 2016 by

      Cattle Red Tractor

      It has been a long time since I sat an exam but I was reminded of that pre-exam tension feeling a couple of weeks ago, when Alan came to visit the farm. Alan was a representative from the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme and had come to examine how our farm […]

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    • GIVEAWAY! Win our Luxury Sleepy Hamper worth over £60!

      Posted on 2nd December 2015 by

      HS GIveaway

      To celebrate our online shopping this Christmas, we are giving you the opportunity to win the gift of sleep – with one of our Luxury Sleepy Hampers! The prize includes a hamper packed full of natural sleep and pampering gifts, including; Lavender flowers Hop flowers 100ml Kentish Lavender Bath Oil […]

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    • Latest newsletter – Christmas gifts, decoration inspiration and news

      Posted on 21st November 2015 by

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      Simply click here to see our most recent newsletter – gift ideas, wreath making courses and Christmas meat ordering. Christmas 2015 Newsletter

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    • Castle Farm Pumpkins in season!

      Posted on 22nd September 2015 by

      Pumpkins

      Our range of delicious pumpkins are now available at the shop. So many rare and wonderful varieties to choose from – plus pick up a recipe leaflet in the shop for cooking inspiration.

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    • Lavender Honey now availble!

      Posted on 22nd September 2015 by

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      Our beautifully smooth lavender honey is now available in the shop – only while stocks last! It is very popular with locals who use the lavender to help with hayfever.

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    • Hop Season is here!

      Posted on 10th August 2015 by

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      It’s nearly hop season! Our hop garden looking lovely this morning. We used to grow for brewing, but now all our hops are grown specifically for interior decoration. Pre-order online now!

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    • The perfect nights’ sleep..

      Posted on 10th August 2015 by

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      All you need when its time for sleep. Our unique formula of Kentish lavender and hops to relax and help you drift off to a restful sleep. A cup of Sleepy Tea, some Sleepy Scent on a tissue by your bed, or Sleepy Balm on the soles of your feet.. […]

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    • #Harvest15 underway!

      Posted on 10th August 2015 by

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       This piece of equipment has been doing lots of long days and late nights! Summer harvest is well and truly underway on Castle Farm and we are also busy preparing the ground for next years crop. No rest in a farmers world!

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    • Our Lavender Harvester is in full swing!

      Posted on 29th July 2015 by

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      We have been busy cutting our lavender fields while the sun shines and in-between rain showers! Our distillery has been working overtime to get through the trailers of lavender, extracting the oil which will be used in aromatherapy and toiletries. The smell is incredible! Check out our Facebook, Instagram and […]

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    • Kentish Cherries now available!

      Posted on 11th July 2015 by

      Cherries

      Fresh Kentish cherries now in the shop! Grown by our friends down in Yalding… They really are delicious! Careful of roadside sellers as they are often Spanish cherries.. These are authentic Kent farm-grown cherries!

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    • A purple valley – Lavender in bloom

      Posted on 7th July 2015 by

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      The Darenth Valley is looking beautiful as our lavender fields come into full flower! We have already been cutting for bunches, and now we are waiting for the flowers to be at optimum oil capacity before harvesting. Don’t miss out – come and visit before the crop is cut! You […]

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    • Fresh Lavender bunches now being cut

      Posted on 24th June 2015 by

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      Our gorgeous lavenders have started to bloom, and fresh bunches are being cut daily and are available from the shop. £2.75 each or 4 for £10.00.

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    • New Season Kentish Strawberries

      Posted on 25th May 2015 by

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      Now in stock! Very pleased to have the first of the Kent season strawberries now in the shop. From the same farm that supply Wimbledon Tennis! Come and pick up a punnet.

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    • Kentish Asparagus now in stock

      Posted on 17th May 2015 by

      Asparagus

      We now have plenty of delicious local asparagus now in The Hop Shop! Grown locally at a farm down the road, asparagus is a great addition to your Spring Summer dishes. For the best results, wash the stems thoroughly in a sink full of cold water. Then trim the stalks […]

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    • FARMING NOTES: January 2015

      Posted on 30th January 2015 by

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      Every month, Farmer William writes a feature for the Shoreham Gazette on what has been happening around the farm and in the world of agriculture; here’s his notes from January 2015. A Letter from (Outback) Australia….. I have great respect for the fencing skills of Australian stock farmers. Their fences […]

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    • Christmas shopping on the farm

      Posted on 3rd December 2014 by

      Christmas Tractor Lights

      We have plenty of parking, no shopping centre crowds, and a treasure trove of beautiful gifts for you to choose from for family and friends. You can even  pick your own hampers in the shop from our wide range of baskets and products and we’ll gift wrap them for you […]

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    • Pumpkins Galore!

      Posted on 11th September 2014 by

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      Our home-grown pumpkins are now in season! Come down to the farm and have a look at our range… the various varieties are slowly coming into season (some ripen later), but we usually have a range of shapes and sizes from the tasty little ‘rolet’ that can be baked whole, […]

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    • PYO Apples – and enjoy the view!

      Posted on 28th August 2014 by

      Castle Farm Apples

      We are happy to announce that our delicious Norfolk Royal Apples will be ready to eat from Friday 5th September. We are the only registered Norfolk Royal orchard in the world – so come down and try what a real apple tastes like! Norfolk Royals are beautiful, big red, sweet, […]

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    • Fresh hop bines looking beautiful

      Posted on 21st August 2014 by

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      Our new season Fresh Hop Bines have just been put up in the shop – and they smell and look glorious! The big 3m long bines are grown in specialist Hop Gardens here on Castle Farm in extra-wide rows to encourage bushy foliage and lots of hop flowers. When used […]

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    • Producer Profile – Wheatsheaves and Stooks

      Posted on 21st August 2014 by

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      With harvest festivals coming up across the country, we are busy hand-making beautiful Wheatstooks and Wheatsheaves from our green or golden wheat. Traditional symbols of the countryside, our stooks are free-standing arrangements of spiralled stalks of wheat. The sheaves are flat-backed displays designed to be hung on a wall. Both […]

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    • Kentish Hop Season is upon us!

      Posted on 5th August 2014 by

      Hops

      Now the last of our Lavender fields have been harvested.. our minds start to turn to wonderful Kentish Hop Bines! You can pre order now – our Fresh Hop Bines will be available in the shop and for mail order despatch across the UK from Monday 18th August, and our […]

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    • Our Lavender harvester in The Times

      Posted on 25th July 2014 by

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      Did you see us in The Times?! Farmers son photographer Thomas Alexander took a stunning photo of the lavender harvester in full action as it started cutting the first field of Lavender in July. We are very lucky to have Thomas on hand with his camera – if you like […]

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    • Cherries now in the shop!

      Posted on 1st July 2014 by

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      Producer Profile – Cherries from Court Lodge Farm We have always been so happy that we can get our cherries from Doug Worley – he really does produce the sweetest, plumpest and tastiest Kentish cherries down on his farm in Yalding! Having grown cherries in the family for generations, Doug […]

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    • The Hop Shop Sweet Collection

      Posted on 1st July 2014 by

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      If you have a sweet tooth, then you will be a fan of our newest products… The Hop Shop Sweet Collection – a delightful selection of old school favourites from liquorice wheels to Bon Bons and Jelly Babies. There is a great little display in store now, and they’re a […]

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    • Tweet Time!

      Posted on 28th June 2014 by

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      Taking over Twitter Farmer William will be making a guest appearance on the popular @farmersoftheUK Twitter handle from 30th June – 6th July. The account features a ‘week in the life’ of a different farmer every 7 days – from sheep farmers in the Highlands to crop farmers in Norfolk. […]

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    • June news from the Farm

      Posted on 15th June 2014 by

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      Planting, weeding and preparing for harvest! We have certainly been kept busy down on the farm in the past few months. Not only have we had to look after and carefully hand-weed all our existing lavender fields, but we have added 65,000 new baby plants to the family! These new […]

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