Celebrate the Harvest: local food, seasonal produce & country charm

The approach of Autumn is undoubtedly a symbol of the passage of time and a reminder that nothing stays the same. But it is also a season of gentle wildness, where the soft coral pinks of the sunset, the fading mauve of the heather and the various shades of bracken make the countryside one of the most magical places to be. And autumn in the Cotswolds has its own particular kind of magic. The hedgerows are heavy with berries, fields are golden with stubble, and there’s a gentle sense of slowing down after summer. It feels fitting, then, that we embrace the fanciful folly of the harvest festivals in the Cotswolds that pop up across the district. The Cotswolds is already a feast for the senses, and now there is even more to dazzle.

The Country Brocante: Harvest Fair at Thyme

For one late-September day, Thyme’s grounds will be transformed into rustic elegance. Antiques, vintage treasures, and artisan finds will capture the essence of country living. The Country Brocante’s harvest fair will be displayed with Thyme’s usual panache; decoration will hang not only on walls but from beams. It is set to be a celebration of English, French and Swedish antiques polished by time, decorative pieces that whisper of quiet beauty, and gardenalia to add charm to autumn borders. In the Artisan and Contemporary Home tent, independent makers showcase slow fashion, thoughtful design, and handmade creations. These are pieces to live with, not just look at. Step outside and the Garden Galleries overflow with flowers, plants, and weathered pots. Each corner is styled with a curatorial eye, making browsing feel more like wandering through a storybook garden.

At Thyme there is always more to discover. The Tithe Barn opens its doors with another array of treasures. Thyme’s boutique takes on a special pop-up identity, celebrating its sibling brand Bertioli. Between the shopping, the strolling, and the sheer beauty of the estate, the Harvest Fair becomes more than a market. It is an immersion in the textures, tastes, and timeless pleasures of the Cotswolds in September.

The Country Brocante Harvest Fair is at Thyme, Southrop on Friday 20 September 2024, between 9am and 5pm.

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Harvest Hog Roast at Daylesford Organic Farm

Every Saturday from mid-September to early October, Daylesford’s Old Spot courtyard glows with harvest. At the heart of this celebrated Cotswolds organic farm, the Harvest Hog Roast is both feast and festivity. It brings together the season’s abundance and the farm’s ethos of living in conversational cohabitation with the land. It is one of the highlights among the harvest festivals in the Cotswolds, drawing visitors in search of flavour, community, and a true taste of autumn.

The courtyard, framed by honeyed stone barns, hums as a whole hog turns slowly over the fire, its skin blistering into crisp, bronzed perfection. Carved thick and served with homemade apple sauce, it is food at its most elemental, deeply tied to place and season. Dessert comes straight from the orchards: warm crumble paired with cider pressed from Daylesford’s apples. There is something almost ceremonial in it – the simple, timeless pleasure of celebrating autumn’s yield with flavours unique to the season.

The Harvest Hog Roast is not only about what’s on the plate. Market Garden cocktails, bright with herbs and freshly picked fruits, balance the richness of the roast. Live music drifts through the courtyard, softening the afternoon. Guests linger, cider in hand, while children weave between tables and conversations spill into laughter. With no tickets, no programme, no rush, it is an event defined by ease and the kind of rural conviviality that feels both rooted in tradition and effortlessly of the present.

The Harvest Hog Roast is at Daylesford Organic Farm Shop every Saturday: 13th September, 20th September, 27th September and 4th October between 12pm and 4pm.

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Pumpkin and Harvest Festival at Jolly Nice Farm Shop

At Jolly Nice, autumn arrives not just with turning leaves and shorter days, but with the joyful Harvest & Pumpkin Festival. For families, it has become a seasonal pilgrimage: a chance to swap city pavements for farm tracks, pull on wellies, and wander through fields where bright orange pumpkins lie like jewels. Running across September weekends and into October, the festival celebrates harvest in its most playful, communal form. It is one of the highlights of the harvest festivals in the Cotswolds.

Children dart between pumpkin rows, clutching their chosen gourds with triumphant smiles, while parents linger with steaming cups of pumpkin-spiced lattes. The farm buzzes with activity; vintage tractors invite climbing and photos, giant pumpkins make perfect autumnal snapshots, and little hands grow sticky with toasted marshmallows around the fire. Activity sheets, space hopper racing, and the gentle company of Felix and Ellie the donkeys ensure there is never a quiet moment. Still, the golden fields and clear skies offer their own kind of pause.

Refreshments are indulgent and spiced for autumn. Alongside crumble-and-cider comforts, there’s black Halloween ice cream, eerie yet delicious, and trays of pumpkin-spiced cookies and cakes, freshly baked. Rain or shine, the spirit holds: laughter in the fields, muddy boots at the gate, and the promise of carving lanterns at home with pumpkins chosen under a Cotswold sky.

The Pumpkin and Harvest Festival at Jolly Nice Farm Shop is on September 20th-21st & 27th-28th, October 4th-5th, 10th-12th, 17th-19th, 24th-26th and 30th-31st between 10am and 4pm.

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Harvest, Cook, Eat at Abbey Home Farm

At the Organic Farm Shop, harvest is not just observed but experienced. Hands in the soil, baskets filling with vegetables still warm from the sun. Their Harvest, Cook, Eat days offer a rare chance to follow food from earth to table, beginning with a guided forage through the gardens where each guest gathers whatever the season has to give. The rhythm of the day is gentle yet purposeful: harvesting in the morning, then returning to the kitchen to transform your basket into a shared feast… an intimate, hands-on alternative to the larger harvest festivals in the Cotswolds.

Groups of friends or families cook side by side, learning simple, seasonal techniques before sitting down together to eat what they’ve created. Or, taking it away to enjoy later, perhaps in the quiet of the farm itself. For those who prefer a lighter touch, there’s also the option to simply harvest produce to take home, cooking in your own kitchen with the memory of where it grew still fresh in your mind. Both versions capture the essence of the season: slowing down, savouring the land’s generosity, and sharing in the pleasure of food at its most immediate and elemental.

Harvest, Cook, Eat at Abbey Home Farm is on throughout September and October, please contact the team directly to arrange your visit.

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