Products in The Blean

As we have seen much of the Blean is a wooded landscape and this area is renowned mainly for its woodland products, rather than its agriculture; however there is still plenty of great local produce to be had. If you are staying in the area for a few days, remember to seek out the farm shops, local stores and farmers markets where you can get your supplies for a picnic.

The Canterbury Goods Shed opened in 2002 as a daily farmers market with onsite restaurant using the local market produce. It also includes a ‘food hall' which means a greater variety and supply of fresh local produce from the surrounding area. Here you'll find a butcher, cheese maker, produce from market gardens and co-operatives, quirky gifts from the Larder, finest Kent produce from Murray's general stores, traditional French and Spanish charcuterie and take-away meals - everything you could possibly need for that perfect woodland picnic!

Amery Court Farm, just outside the village of Blean are part of a vegetable co-operative selling produce at the Canterbury Goods Shed as well as from a stall in the Royal Oak Car Park in Blean during the summer months. In particular they grow soft fruit, asparagus, apples and pears.

Canterbury Cheesemakers - offer over a dozen of the cheeses on display in the Canterbury Goods Shed and at Whitstable Farmers Market, and all are Kentish. Jane Bowyer and her team make a variety of hard and soft cow's cheeses and two goat's cheeses. She also makes the only unpasteurised butter in Kent.

Whitstable Farmers Market operates on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month in St. Mary's Hall from 9.30 until 2pm. All stalls sell their own produce and come from within 25 miles of Whitstable -ensuring freshness, great flavour and high quality. The market features organically grown seasonal vegetables, organic apple and pear juice, free range eggs, free range meat and wild game, home made organic soap, vegetable plants in season, preserves and honey. Particularly keep an eye out for dried fruit from local orchards and free-range pork cuts and sausages from Dargate produced and sold by Steve and Sue Dansey, and Ashmore cheese, a full flavoured cheddar-like cheese made at the dairy at Dargate by Jane Bowyer.

If you are so inclined its worth seeking out some local cider and apple juice from the Apple Shed at Broomfield Orchard. Margaret and Robert Riley open from Easter to November offering home-made cider, several varieties of juice and local honey.

Speaking of honey, you could also sample the wares at Honeywood Apiary in Herne Common. They specialise in all things apian including; Runny Honey, Chewy Honey, Honey with ginger, Honey marmalade, Honey mustard, beeswax polish.

You will find grocery/convenience stores and Post Offices in Blean, Boughton, Broad Oak, Broomfield, Herne, Rough Common and Sturry. Many of which may stock seasonal products throughout the year.
You could also pay a visit to Macknade fine foods in Faversham, which has two outlets, one on West Street in the centre of Faversham and a second on the Selling road on the outskirts of town. This concern started as a tent in 20 acres of "Pick your own" crops and has grown to become a centre for high quality fresh Kentish produce and global fine foods. The town centre outlet is open Monday to Saturday 9am - 5pm and the larger outlet on the Selling Road is open until 6pm and also 10am-4pm on Sundays, and ghosts a regular weekend Farmers Market.

But it's not all about just food in the Blean, there are still some places where you can buy sustainably coppiced and produced logs and wood fuel. Kent Logs are tree surgeons and work with Kent Wildlife Trust in their reserves. All wood is stored for a year before being sold as fire wood and can be delivered all across Kent. Blean Wood also sell wood chip, briquettes and logs from their base at Amery Court Farm just outside the village of Blean, again all the wood is sourced from a sustainable chestnut coppice therefore helping to support the woodlands of the Blean.

Forest Woodcraft - Owned and run by Peter Forest, an artist and carpenter who has worked in the field for over 25 years, Forest Woodcraft produces fencing, children's climbing frames, compost toilets and greenwood buildings all made from locally grown Chestnut.

Peter Jones Hardwood Charcoal- one of the last traditional charcoal makers in East Kent can be found at the Whitstable Farmers Market or contacted directly. Charcoal is made the traditional way it has been in the Blean for hundreds of years, out of a sustainable supply of coppiced hardwood, and Peter produces charcoal of the highest quality, just the ticket for barbeques and hog roasts!

Local, Special Interest  and Farm Shops

Blean

• Blean Village Stores & Post Office
CT2 9HP
01227 459 933

• Amery Court Farm
Produce available at Goods Shed and at Royal Oak in Blean between May and August

• Blean Angling
CT2 9HP
01227 789700
www.bleanangling.com

• Blean Wood
07870 250000
www.bleanwood.co.uk

Boughton

• Boughton Post Office
ME13 9AL
01227 751222

• Boughton Village Store & Newsagent - Londis
ME13 9AL
01227 711919

Broad Oak
• Broad Oak Village Stores
CT2 0QY
01227 711919

Broomfield

• Broomfield Post Office & Village Stores
CT6 7AG
01227 374031

• Broomfield Supermarket
CT6 7UD
01227 741025

• The Apple Shed at Broomfield Orchard
CT6 7AY
01227 362279
www.somersetmade.co.uk/oldscrump/ciderfarms/broomfield.php

Dargate

• Cheesemakers of Canterbury
Sell at Goods Shed and Whitstable Farmers Market
01227 751741
www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk

Dunkirk

• Maytree Nurseries
ME13 9LH
01227 750353

Herne

• Herne Village Stores and Post office
CT6 7HQ
01227 374345

• Home Farm, Farm Shop
CT6 7NH
01227 373765

Herne Bay

• Kent Logs
CT6 7AD
01227 742052
www.kentlogs.co.uk

Herne Common

• M &P Farm Shop
CT6 7LI
01227 369852

• Honeywood Apiary
CT6 7NP
01227 372519

Rough Common

• Rough Common Village Store
CT2 9DA
0845 7223344

Sturry

• Sturry Road Post Office
CT1 1HQ
01227 462024