Charlbury Market

Wilder Flower Farm is near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds. It is run by me, Helen with the cheerful support of my brilliant family and the constant company of Gertie our dog. We also have some fantastic volunteers who put up with the (almost) constant weeding, average coffee and occasional biscuit.  

My background is in graphic design and I trained at Camberwell College of Arts and then worked for 15 yrs as a designer in London but, after becoming a mum, I had a growing urge to get outside, often gardening by head torch to wind down after a long day.  Like most people I didn’t like denuding my garden to have flowers for the house so, after leaving London in 2012, I started a small cut flower plot for myself and it grew…literally…allotment plot by allotment plot until I had 4 and it had become the day job.  Having grown on there for 8 years we have recently taken a big leap of faith and bought around 4 acres of land, a dilapidated nursery, which we are slowly loving back to life.  It’s going to be a marathon not a sprint and we are just beginning to tell that story @our_wilder_land if you want to follow it.

I love what I do. Officially founded 5 years ago, we grow in season and without chemicals and deliberately choose flowers (or varieties) that you won’t find in Supermarkets or (most) high street florists. We aim to favour scent, rarity, delicacy and PLENTY of colour.  As well as selling here at Charlbury, we also offer fortnightly subscriptions of mixed buckets containing the most beautiful flowers available that week for £20.  Bouquets and other one-off purchases are also available and can be collected from our site in Little Compton.  

Hopefully I’ll see you at Charlbury market or, come and visit me in Little Compton…if you can’t find me I’ll most probably be outside, hands in the soil and laughing…far too loudly.

Ori and Vicky opened Missing Bean in 2009 with the vision of bringing delicious, ethically sourced speciality coffee to Oxford and surrounds. In 2014 we started roasting our own coffee, so that we could have more control over the supply chain. We specialise in direct trade coffee and develop long-term relationships with farmers, who we visit when possible.
Our focus has always been the community we’re in, and creating a warm, relaxed and friendly space where everyone feels welcomed. We love our coffee, and respect the growers, and our aim is to keep the coffee accessible to all, whilst building a value-led and environmentally accountable business that cares for its staff, its products and the planet.
Harriet first joined Missing Bean as a barista in 2012, but quickly became shop manager and baker of many of the cakes we served at the time. Fast forward a few years and a yoga business later, and when the dream for a bakery came up Harriet, with her love and passion for baking, good food and tasty, quality ingredients was the first person we approached to run it.
Our bakery aims to produce a small range of sweet and savoury seasonal pastries, complemented by some firm favourites and our sough dough breads. We believe that sourcing is paramount, and all our ingredients are carefully selected for taste and provenance. All our grain and flour for our breads come from Henry Astor at nearby Bruern farm.
Please do ask if you have any questions about how or why we do things the way we do, or any of our ingredients or suppliers. We look forward to meeting you at the market.

Nutmeg & Thyme Plant Based Food are an entirely gluten free and vegan shop/cafe and catering business based in Burford.

Emily Weir returned from vegan kitchens in London during lockdown and quickly started delivering seasonal menu items around Oxfordshire which led to buying a catering trailer, still used daily to cook up all our goods for the shop and any markets and events we do!

We revolve all our dishes and menus around as much seasonal, local and homegrown produce as possible, alongside our Burford shop which is stocked full of talented local producers and makers, refill stations and freshly prepared dishes, salads, bakes and more.

Having pitched at Charlbury Community Centre for a few years with the trailer, it’s brilliant to be back trading with lots of brilliant local producers at Charlbury Market!

Earth Ale is an artisanal microbrewery specialising in foraged and natural ingredients, based at Bothy Vineyard. With roots in Michelin kitchens around the world, they’re passionate about quality ingredients and bringing people together with good food and beer.

They use ancient and modern fermentation techniques and focus on seasonal, limited batches, so they can give every brew the handcrafted care and attention it deserves. They’ve got beers like an elderflower champagne saison, where they create a natural champagne from the foraged elderflower, blend it with a spelt beer, pitch with champagne yeast and age for 12 months. They also have more classic styles like a Meadow Pilsner, American Amber and more.