Latest news with #DaylesfordOrganic
North Wales Live
6 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Live
I went to UK's poshest farm shop 90 minutes from Wales — first thing I noticed wasn't the food
I've been to lots of farm shops and markets in Wales but never been anywhere quite like this — it's got to be the poshest farm shop anywhere in the UK. Nestled in the middle of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside, Daylesford Organic sells hampers for £690. The perfectly organised shelves feature £36 honey, £10 chocolate and cashew butter sourdough cookies, £175 tablecloths, £40 mushroom coffee and a £23 "immunity formula". Outside, a beautiful garden centre displays £1,600 garden dining furniture and £1,000 trees. Walking around it in the sunshine was one of the highlights of my summer. The whole place is gorgeous — and the customers (and their dogs) are as meticulous and beautifully presented as the shop. I came away with a bag full of Isle of Wight tomatoes (which tasted amazing) and a £20 lavender bush which now brightens up the front of my home. It's less than a 90-minute drive from parts of Wales, and I can say it's definitely worth the drive. Daylesford Organic has made headlines for these prices in the past. But it's back in the news this week because the US vice president, JD Vance, called in. Donald Trump's second-in-command is in the Cotswolds for a holiday with his family and footage shows his huge entourage of security and police at the farm shop and in the surrounding lanes on Monday. He reportedly spent hours there (I didn't spend quite that long but would have if I could). But on my visit, the first thing that struck me wasn't the food or the prices. It was the cars in the car park. I immediately spotted two Ferraris, several Porsches and too many Range Rovers to count. Right outside the front door was a white Ferrari with a number plate reading "cash". I parked my car in a distant corner of the car park and then did my best not to look too gobsmacked as I walked around. But this level of ostentatious wealth isn't surprising when you consider the area. The farm shop is around halfway between Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds, every inch of which belongs on a postcard. People who call this area home include the Beckhams, David and Samantha Cameron, Mike and Zara Tindall, Princess Anne, Kate Moss, Ellen DeGeneres, Simon Cowell, Richard E Grant and many, many more. Jeremy Clarkson has made it even more famous with his huge Amazon Prime Video hit Clarkson's Farm, on which you'll see sweeping drone-shot views of the sunlit countryside and farmland. I've been to his (very different) farm shop too, which you can read about here, as well as his sensational pub, which you can read about here. Its towns and villages, like Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury (known as Britain's most beautiful village), Burford, Broadway and Stow-on-the-Wold are among the most beautiful you'll find anywhere. And the farm shop itself was founded in 2002 by Lady Carole Bamford, whose husband is JCB founder Lord Anthony Bamford. The couple are said to have a joint fortune of £9.45bn, making them comfortably one of the very wealthiest people in the UK. Earlier this summer, Lady Bamford was pictured alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla at Ascot Racecourse. The Bamfords own several prize-winning horses, including one bought for £1.4 million. Walking around the shop and its outdoor garden centre, I enjoyed trying to figure out if I recognised some of the more glamorous customers (I didn't). But visitors this week would have had no trouble figuring out who the most famous customer was, given the convoy of black SUVs he arrived with. Locals in the Cotswolds have likened the security lockdown around Vance's holiday to the Men in Black as roads, footpaths and village lanes were blocked. One said: "Stopped off at a farm did JD Vance. Security everywhere." Another said: "There were a few American SUVs and then loads of Mercedes. And a full police riot van and about three police motorbikes. "Because of this, there are loads of police everywhere at the moment - normally, you'd never see a police car around here." One local said: "You do seem to get a few political celebrities round here - Kamala Harris has been, David Cameron lives around here, and Boris Johnson often comes. I go to Daylesford Organic most days with my kids. It's not often you see a presidential motorcade here though!" I'd go most days myself if I could and am certainly looking forward to my next visit. It would have been wonderful if Cotswolds farm shop rival Clarkson had decided to pop in at the same time to check out the competition. He has described Vance as "a bearded God-botherer who pretty much thinks that women who've been raped should be forced to have the resultant child". Clarkson, whose Diddly Squat Farm Shop is no more than a mile from the vice-president's fortress-like holiday mansion, also said: "I've searched for the right word to describe him and I think it's 't**t'." Oh well, I still hope Vance, who has also said the UK is a "truly Islamist" country, enjoyed his visit as much as I did. At least he could probably afford to buy a bit more than I could.
Wales Online
6 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
I went to UK's poshest farm shop 90 minutes from Wales — first thing I noticed wasn't the food
I went to UK's poshest farm shop 90 minutes from Wales — first thing I noticed wasn't the food The farm shop a short drive from Wales has been in the news again this week because US vice president JD Vance arrived with a huge entourage of security and police I went to UK's poshest farm shop 90 minutes from Wales — first thing I noticed wasn't the food I've been to lots of farm shops and markets in Wales but never been anywhere quite like this — it's got to be the poshest farm shop anywhere in the UK. Nestled in the middle of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside, Daylesford Organic sells hampers for £690. The perfectly organised shelves feature £36 honey, £10 chocolate and cashew butter sourdough cookies, £175 tablecloths, £40 mushroom coffee and a £23 "immunity formula". Outside, a beautiful garden centre displays £1,600 garden dining furniture and £1,000 trees. Walking around it in the sunshine was one of the highlights of my summer. The whole place is gorgeous — and the customers (and their dogs) are as meticulous and beautifully presented as the shop. I came away with a bag full of Isle of Wight tomatoes (which tasted amazing) and a £20 lavender bush which now brightens up the front of my home. It's less than a 90-minute drive from parts of Wales, and I can say it's definitely worth the drive. Daylesford Organic has made headlines for these prices in the past. But it's back in the news this week because the US vice president, JD Vance, called in. Donald Trump's second-in-command is in the Cotswolds for a holiday with his family and footage shows his huge entourage of security and police at the farm shop and in the surrounding lanes on Monday. He reportedly spent hours there (I didn't spend quite that long but would have if I could). A white Ferrari in the car park with a number plate reading "cash" (Image: Steffan Rhys) I loved walking around the garden centre at Daylesford Organic Farm Shop (Image: Steffan Rhys ) But on my visit, the first thing that struck me wasn't the food or the prices. It was the cars in the car park. I immediately spotted two Ferraris, several Porsches and too many Range Rovers to count. Right outside the front door was a white Ferrari with a number plate reading "cash". I parked my car in a distant corner of the car park and then did my best not to look too gobsmacked as I walked around. But this level of ostentatious wealth isn't surprising when you consider the area. The farm shop is around halfway between Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds, every inch of which belongs on a postcard. People who call this area home include the Beckhams, David and Samantha Cameron, Mike and Zara Tindall, Princess Anne, Kate Moss, Ellen DeGeneres, Simon Cowell, Richard E Grant and many, many more. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are among the many A-listers who call the Cotswolds home (Image:for RH) Zara and Mike Tindall also live there, as does Princess Anne (Image: Getty Images) David and Victoria Beckham also live in the Cotswolds (Image: Getty Images) Jeremy Clarkson has made it even more famous with his huge Amazon Prime Video hit Clarkson's Farm, on which you'll see sweeping drone-shot views of the sunlit countryside and farmland. I've been to his (very different) farm shop too, which you can read about here, as well as his sensational pub, which you can read about here. Its towns and villages, like Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury (known as Britain's most beautiful village), Burford, Broadway and Stow-on-the-Wold are among the most beautiful you'll find anywhere. And the farm shop itself was founded in 2002 by Lady Carole Bamford, whose husband is JCB founder Lord Anthony Bamford. The couple are said to have a joint fortune of £9.45bn, making them comfortably one of the very wealthiest people in the UK. Earlier this summer, Lady Bamford was pictured alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla at Ascot Racecourse. The Bamfords own several prize-winning horses, including one bought for £1.4 million. Lady Carole Bamford (far left) with Ascot race-goers including King Charles and Camilla this summer (Image:) Carole Bamford started Daylesford with 'a handful of fields' and 'a desire to make a difference' (Image: PA) Walking around the shop and its outdoor garden centre, I enjoyed trying to figure out if I recognised some of the more glamorous customers (I didn't). But visitors this week would have had no trouble figuring out who the most famous customer was, given the convoy of black SUVs he arrived with. There were rows of black SUVs at the farm shop for Vance's visit (Image: SWNS) Nearby roads were closed off by police and locals were spoken to - they compared it to Men in Black (Image: Joseph Walshe / SWNS) Locals in the Cotswolds have likened the security lockdown around Vance's holiday to the Men in Black as roads, footpaths and village lanes were blocked. One said: "Stopped off at a farm did JD Vance. Security everywhere." Another said: "There were a few American SUVs and then loads of Mercedes. And a full police riot van and about three police motorbikes. "Because of this, there are loads of police everywhere at the moment - normally, you'd never see a police car around here." One local said: "You do seem to get a few political celebrities round here - Kamala Harris has been, David Cameron lives around here, and Boris Johnson often comes. I go to Daylesford Organic most days with my kids. It's not often you see a presidential motorcade here though!" There was a protest against Vance in the area this week (Image: AFP via Getty Images) Article continues below I'd go most days myself if I could and am certainly looking forward to my next visit. It would have been wonderful if Cotswolds farm shop rival Clarkson had decided to pop in at the same time to check out the competition. He has described Vance as "a bearded God-botherer who pretty much thinks that women who've been raped should be forced to have the resultant child". Clarkson, whose Diddly Squat Farm Shop is no more than a mile from the vice-president's fortress-like holiday mansion, also said: "I've searched for the right word to describe him and I think it's 't**t'." Oh well, I still hope Vance, who has also said the UK is a "truly Islamist" country, enjoyed his visit as much as I did. At least he could probably afford to buy a bit more than I could.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
I went to the UK's poshest farm shop — one thing stood out well before I set foot inside
The farm shop is in the news again this week because US vice president JD Vance arrived with a huge entourage of security and police — I visited earlier this summer and one thing was glaring long before I got inside I've never been anywhere quite like this — it's got to be the poshest farm shop anywhere in Britain. Nestled in the middle of the stunningly beautiful Cotswolds countryside, Daylesford Organic sells hampers for £690. The manicured shelves feature £36 honey, £10 chocolate and cashew butter sourdough cookies, £175 tablecloths, £40 mushroom coffee and a £23 "immunity formula". Outside, a beautiful garden centre displays £1,600 garden dining furniture and £1,000 trees. Walking around it in the sunshine was one of the highlights of my summer. The whole place is gorgeous — and the customers (and their dogs) are as meticulous and beautifully presented as the shop. I came away with a bag full of Isle of Wight tomatoes (the best I've ever tasted) and a lavender bush which cost £20. Daylesford Organic has made headlines for its prices in the past. But it's back in the news this week because the US vice president, JD Vance, called in. Donald Trump's second-in-command is in the Cotswolds for a holiday with his family and footage shows his huge entourage of security and police at the farm shop and in the surrounding lanes on Monday. He reportedly spent hours there. But on my visit, the first thing that struck me wasn't the food or the prices. It was the cars in the car park. I immediately spotted two Ferraris, several Porsches and too many Range Rovers to count. Right outside the front door was a white Ferrari with a number plate reading "cash". I parked my car in a distant corner of the car park and then did my best not to look too gobsmacked as I walked around. But this level of ostentatious wealth isn't surprising when you consider the area. The farm shop is around halfway between Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds, every inch of which belongs on a postcard. People who call this area home include the Beckhams, David and Samantha Cameron, Mike and Zara Tindall, Princess Anne, Kate Moss, Ellen DeGeneres, Simon Cowell, Richard E Grant and many, many more. Jeremy Clarkson has made it even more famous with his huge Amazon Prime Video hit Clarkson's Farm, on which you'll see sweeping drone-shot views of the sunlit countryside and farmland. I've been to his (very different) farm shop too, which you can read about here, as well as his sensational pub, which you can read about here. Its towns and villages, like Bourton-on-the-Water (read about it here), Bibury (known as Britain's most beautiful village), Burford, Broadway and Stow-on-the-Wold are among the most beautiful you'll find anywhere. And the farm shop itself was founded in 2002 by Lady Carole Bamford, whose husband is JCB founder Lord Anthony Bamford. The couple are said to have a joint fortune of £9.45bn, making them comfortably one of the very wealthiest people in the UK. Earlier this summer, Lady Bamford was pictured alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla at Ascot Racecourse. The Bamfords own several prize-winning horses, including one bought for £1.4 million. Walking around the shop and its outdoor garden centre, I enjoyed trying to figure out if I recognised some of the more glamorous customers (I didn't). But visitors this week would have had no trouble figuring out who the most famous customer was, given the convoy of black SUVs he arrived with. Locals in the Cotswolds have likened the security lockdown around Vance's holiday to the Men in Black as roads, footpaths and village lanes were blocked. One said: "Stopped off at a farm did JD Vance. Security everywhere." Another said: "There were a few American SUVs and then loads of Mercedes. And a full police riot van and about three police motorbikes. "Because of this, there are loads of police everywhere at the moment - normally, you'd never see a police car around here." One local said: "You do seem to get a few political celebrities round here - Kamala Harris has been, David Cameron lives around here, and Boris Johnson often comes. I go to Daylesford Organic most days with my kids. It's not often you see a presidential motorcade here though!" I'd go most days myself if I could and am certainly looking forward to my next visit. It would have been wonderful if Cotswolds farm shop rival Clarkson had decided to pop in at the same time to check out the competition. He has described Vance as "a bearded God-botherer who pretty much thinks that women who've been raped should be forced to have the resultant child". Clarkson, whose Diddly Squat Farm Shop is no more than a mile from the vice-president's fortress-like holiday mansion, also said: "I've searched for the right word to describe him and I think it's 't**t'." Oh well, I still hope Vance, who has also said the UK is a "truly Islamist" country, enjoyed his visit as much as I did. At least he could probably afford to buy a bit more than I could.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
JD Vance's not welcome party: Cotswolds protest as countryside swarms with secret service agents - and Scotland prepares for potential VP visit
Protesters are descending on the Cotswolds today for a ' JD Vance not welcome party' - as the countryside swarms with secret service agents and Scotland braces for its own potential visit. Members of the Stop Trump Coalition have vowed to make a racket to show their opposition to the US Vice President's 'politics of hate', but will struggle to get anywhere near the hamlet where he is staying amid a massive security operation. Mr Vance and his family are renting an 18th-century manor house in the tiny settlement of Dean, where residents have been left disgruntled by road closures and checkpoints manned by police with sniffer dogs. Every time the politician leaves he is joined by a vast motorcade, which yesterday made a stop at Daylesford Organic farm shop, where he was shown around by Tory 'super-donor' and billionaire businessman Lord Bamford. Mr Vance is considering following up his Cotswold holiday with a visit to Ayrshire later this week, prompting Police Scotland to ready a 'significant policing operation' involving as many as 1,000 officers. A spokesman said: 'Planning is under way for a potential visit to Scotland by the Vice President of the United States. 'Details of any visit would be for the White House to comment on, however it is important that we prepare in advance for what would be a significant policing operation.' It comes just weeks after President Donald Trump was in Scotland to play golf on his courses in Turnberry and Aberdeenshire. The Stop Trump Coalition has been leading protests against both Mr Trump and Mr Vance's visits, and vowed to come out in force later today. 'JD Vance is a hideous moral vacuum and the British public want nothing to do with him,' said spokesman Zoe Gardner. 'It is nauseating to watch ministers' displays of fake friendship with this authoritarian, anti-democratic, genocide-enabling US regime. 'We will be throwing a 'Vance Not Welcome' party – using our free speech to let him know he and his politics of hate are not welcome in the Cotswolds or any part of our country.' Lord Bamford's wife, Carole, set up Daylesford Organic in 2002, with the shop previously hitting the headlines for charging £950 for a wicker-style blanket basket. JD Vance is believed to have stayed in the shop for around three hours yesterday and to have taken particular interest in the bread counter, where he was seen trying samples. One person posted on social media: 'Stopped off at a farm did JD Vance. Security everywhere.' Another added: 'JD Vance decided to go to Daylesford Farm [at] the same time as us.' Daylesford Organic, which is situated on 3,500 acres of farmland, is known for its upmarket goods. Items on sale when the Daily Mail visited in October last year included Swedish side tables priced at £3,500 each and a £6,950 burnt cedar wood 'kindled' bowl. Meanwhile, an influencer was also left baffled in March when she paid an eye-watering £37 for just four grocery items. Vance's visit to Daylesford Organic yesterday came after his motorcade was seen passing through Chipping Norton in the afternoon. All entrances to the hamlet of Dean - two roads and three public footpaths - were subsequently blocked off. Only residents of the hamlet were allowed in and out, dog walkers were diverted, and those entering the area were subject to searches. Yesterday, one local councillor labelled the heavy security presence 'intimidating' and compared the sight of guards in suits and sunglasses patrolling quiet lanes to scenes from Men In Black. 'We understand that people do need security but I think they haven't been discreet about it,' said councillor Andy Graham. 'I think that tends to generate more concern than is necessary. Roads have been closed up.' Mr Vance arrived in the Cotswolds yesterday with his wife, Usha, and children - Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three - after the family drove up from London following a private tour of Hampton Court on Sunday. Mr Vance rocked up at Henry VIII's former residence for a morning tour - forcing the site to delay its public opening to 12pm. He now appears to have finished his official business after making a brief trip on Friday to Chevening House, the official residence of British foreign secretary David Lammy. Mr Lammy, 53, and Mr Vance, 41, are understood to have forged an unlikely friendship and spent time with each other's families, alongside engaging in a short, bilateral meeting. The massive security operation surrounding Dean Manor has prompted its owner to apologise to neighbours for the disruption. Pippa Hornby, who bought the 18th-century Cotswolds home with her husband Johnny in 2017, told villagers that she was 'so sorry for the circus' set to take place across the coming days, The Telegraph reported. The manor house was built in 1702 for the MP Thomas Rowney and is close to Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm. Set across six acres of land, the sprawling property is home to two cellars, a tennis court, rose garden, basement gym and Georgian orangery. There has been intense activity around the manor house for days.
Telegraph
11-08-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
JD Vance visits farm shop owned by Tory donor's wife
JD Vance has been pictured visiting a Cotswolds farm shop owned by the wife of a Tory donor. The US vice-president visited Daylesford Farm, owned by Baroness Bamford, on Monday during his holiday in the Cotswolds. The businesswoman, who founded the Daylesford Organic farm shops chain, is the wife of Lord Bamford, the chairman of construction equipment manufacturer JCB. The Tory peer, his brother Mark, and their company have donated more than £10m to the Conservatives over the past 20 years. Lord Bamford reportedly gave £3.94m to the party during the 2019 election campaign. Boris Johnson's wedding to Carrie Symonds in 2022 was also held at Lord Bamford's 18th-century estate, Daylesford House, in Gloucestershire. Mr Vance arrived at Daylesford Farm Shop in a convoy of armoured cars. He was shown around by Lord Bamford and took interest in the bread counter, where he was seen trying samples during his three-hour visit. A room inside was closed off for Mr Vance to enjoy lunch before he left via a back door. The Daylesford Farm Shop sells a variety of high-end organic produce, including bread, meat, fish, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. It also provides ready-to-cook meals, organic wines, candles and skincare products. Mr Vance, his wife Usha and their three children, began their summer holiday in the UK being hosted by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, at Chevening, his grace-and-favour country house in Kent. The vice-president's break has been peppered with official meetings on topics such as Ukraine and an intervention over the state of freedom of speech in Britain. On Sunday, the Vances were given exclusive access to Hampton Court Palace, the former home of Henry VIII. Mr Vance toured the grounds as a throng of tourists massed at the gates, watched over by secret service agents.
