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    • Castle Farm Cattle enjoying our Roundhouse

      Posted on 25th March 2018 by

      Thankfully the grass is starting to grow again in the water meadows after a very wet Winter. Hopefully the ground will dry out soon and the young cattle can enjoy some fresh grazing! In the meantime, the cattle enjoy our state of the art ‘Roundhouse’ building. We had a visiting study group from Iowa State […]

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    • We are open over Easter

      Posted on 25th March 2018 by

      COME VISIT Whether you’re out walking in the lovely Darent Valley or in need of some excellent hot cross buns we will be open: Good Friday 10am – 5pm Easter Saturday 9am – 5pm Easter Sunday 10am – 5pm Easter Monday 10am – 5pm WALK THE VALLEY  Farmer William has created […]

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    • Jobs available – The Hop Shop is hiring!

      Posted on 25th March 2018 by

      Come and work with us!  GENERAL ASSISTANT We are looking for a friendly, versatile, hands-on and energetic person to join the team here at Castle Farm as a temporary General Assistant. The role will be part time, consisting of one weekend day plus a minimum of 2-3 weekdays for the next 6 months (potentially more for […]

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    • What are you eating for Christmas Dinner?

      Posted on 29th November 2017 by

      If you haven’t already – you need to start thinking about what meat you will be enjoying on Christmas Day and over the holiday season. Our Christmas Meat selection comes from trusted, traceable sources, and you can choose from free-range Bronze Turkey (reared from an old fashioned breed for extra tenderness and flavour), free-range Goose, Duck, Chicken […]

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    • Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year

      Posted on 28th November 2017 by

      Tune into Sky Arts at 8pm on Wednesday 29 November to see our Kentish Lavender fields featuring in the semi finals of Landscape Artist of the Year! The artists battle it out to win the judges eye as they paint our beautiful Darenth Valley in full purple bloom. Hosted by […]

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    • New Lavender Gift Collections

      Posted on 25th October 2017 by

      Lavender Pamper collection

      We have just launched our brand new line of Lavender Gift Collections! New to the website this week, we have carefully selected some of our favourite Lavender gifts to make up nine different Hampers – something for everyone. Each Lavender Gift Collection comes beautifully hand-packaged and is presented in a luxury white gift […]

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    • WIN! Pumpkin Carving Competition!

      Posted on 6th October 2017 by

      UPDATE – We have a winner! @ceri_insta won the competition with this fabulously creative and detailed design. Thank you to everyone who entered – we loved seeing all your Pumpkin Carving creations! Take part in The Hop Shop’s Pumpkins Carving Competition and you could win an Autumn hamper of food […]

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    • Pumpkins for carving, cooking & decorating!

      Posted on 4th October 2017 by

      Castle Farm pumpkins

      We are THE place for Pumpkins this year! It’s been a bumper crop down on Castle Farm, so come and choose your perfect pumpkin for carving, cooking, or just making your home look pretty this Autumn! Read more about our pumpkins here.

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    • Cottage for short term let

      Posted on 27th September 2017 by

      We have a lovely Farm Cottage available for short term let over the Winter. Fully furnished and the perfect cosy home. Can be two or three bedroom (sleeps 4), with fully equipped kitchen, lovely living room, bathroom, laundry, private garden and drive, off road parking, Sky TV, WiFi… and a great little farm […]

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    • Book in your Christmas Wreath Course

      Posted on 27th September 2017 by

      Come and join in the Christmas spirit and make a gorgeous Christmas Wreath of fresh foliage for your front door. Don’t worry if you are a beginner – we provide expert guidance every step of the way! All the beautiful foliage is grown on Castle Farm or locally sourced, and we […]

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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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

       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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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

      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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