September is going to be a busy month at Hockey’s Farm Shop. Our Harvest Nights are about to begin, the Farm Shop is filling with seasonal ingredients, autumn dates are being added to the diary and Christmas orders are already being secured through our Early Bird offer.

Most significantly, Monday 14 September marks the beginning of this year’s pannage season. It is one of the New Forest’s oldest and most important traditions, connecting Commoners, livestock, the landscape and the food produced here. For Hockey’s, it has even greater significance this year following the remarkable success of our pannage pork at the 2026 Great Taste Awards.

Over the next few weeks, there will be new reasons to visit, new flavours to enjoy and several dates you will not want to miss. Here is what September and the beginning of autumn will bring to Hockey’s in South Gorley.

Harvest season arrives at the Farm Shop

September is a wonderful month for anyone who enjoys cooking with seasonal ingredients. It brings the first proper taste of autumn while still holding on to some of summer’s abundance. The shelves and displays in the Farm Shop begin to change as apples, squash, root vegetables and other autumn produce come into season.

Seasonal shopping is not simply about tradition. Produce grown and harvested at the right time can offer excellent flavour, while choosing ingredients from nearby growers and independent producers helps support the local food network throughout the New Forest and surrounding area.

It is also exactly the sort of food many of us want once the children are back at school and the evenings begin to feel cooler. A tray of roasted seasonal vegetables can become an easy midweek supper, accompany a joint from the butchers or provide the base for soups, stews and curries. Apples can be baked into a crumble, cooked down into a sauce for pork or simply added to lunchboxes for the week ahead.

Our Farm Shop brings together fresh produce, store-cupboard essentials, deli favourites and products from independent suppliers, making it easy to plan several meals in one visit. If you prefer to organise your shopping in advance, selected fresh meat and everyday essentials can also be ordered through the Hockey’s online shop for weekend Click & Collect.

The Mobile Fish Company will also continue to visit Hockey’s every Wednesday from 11am until 2pm, bringing another useful option for the weekly shop and plenty of inspiration for quick suppers.

Pannage begins on 14 September

One of the clearest signs that autumn is approaching in the New Forest is the beginning of pannage season. This year, pigs will be turned out by New Forest Commoners from Monday 14 September until Sunday 29 November.

Also known as the Common of Mast, pannage is the ancient right that allows Commoners to release pigs onto the open Forest to forage for fallen acorns, beechmast and other nuts. It is a living tradition, but it also continues to perform an extremely important practical role.

Although pigs can safely eat acorns, consuming too many can be harmful and potentially fatal to the ponies and cattle that graze freely across the New Forest. The pigs therefore help to clear the Forest floor naturally, protecting other livestock while making use of a plentiful seasonal food source.

Pannage is a striking example of the relationship between commoning, livestock and the New Forest landscape. It is not a display created for visitors; it is a working part of Forest life and a tradition that remains relevant centuries after it began.

If you encounter pigs while travelling or walking in the New Forest, please enjoy seeing them from a respectful distance. They should never be approached, touched or fed, and drivers should take particular care as livestock may be close to or on the roads.

What makes pannage pork special?

The woodland diet enjoyed by pigs during pannage contributes to the distinctive character of the meat. Foraging and natural movement help to produce pork with excellent depth of flavour, while the fat carries a rich, slightly nutty quality that works beautifully across a variety of cuts.

This is meat with a genuine connection to its place of origin. Its story begins beneath the oak and beech trees of the New Forest, continues through skilled traditional butchery and finishes at the table.

At Hockey’s, we are proud to support this important New Forest tradition and equally proud that the quality of our pannage pork has received national recognition.

At the 2026 Great Taste Awards, Hockey’s Pannage Spare Rib Pork Joint received the highest possible rating of three stars. Our Pannage Belly Pork was also awarded one Great Taste star.

Great Taste judging is conducted through blind tasting, which means products are assessed entirely on their flavour, texture and quality rather than their branding or appearance. Receiving three stars is an exceptional achievement and places our Pannage Spare Rib Pork Joint among the most highly regarded products entered into the awards.

The recognition is particularly meaningful because it celebrates more than a single cut of meat. It reflects the quality of the pork, the importance of the pannage tradition and the knowledge and skill of the Hockey’s butchery team.

Pannage pork will not be available immediately when the pigs are first turned out on 14 September. They need time to forage across the Forest before the meat reaches our counter later in the season. We will share updates as soon as this year’s pannage pork becomes available.

Harvest Nights begin this September

Harvest will also be celebrated through food in our refurbished polytunnel as the Hockey’s Harvest Nights series begins on Friday 25 September.

Following our summer evenings, this six-night series will move through the flavours of autumn and early winter, with each event inspired by a different part of the season:

Friday 25 September – Harvest Home: The First Roots
Friday 9 October – The Orchard
Friday 23 October – Into the Woods
Friday 6 November – The Game Night
Friday 20 November – Pannage & Chestnuts
Friday 11 December – The Christmas Table

The Pannage & Chestnuts evening on 20 November will be an especially fitting celebration of one of the New Forest’s most important seasonal traditions, exploring pannage pork from nose to tail.

Each Harvest Night has its own menu and individual tickets, while a very limited number of series passes are available for guests who would like a seat at all six evenings. Full details and booking can be found in the Harvest Nights section of our online shop.

More autumn dates for the diary

Our monthly Commoner’s Breakfast and Guided Walk will return on Friday 25 September. These mornings offer the opportunity to enjoy breakfast at Hockey’s before heading out on a guided walk through the surrounding New Forest.

As the landscape begins to change, September is a particularly interesting time to explore. The walk provides a closer look at the traditions, wildlife and working practices that continue to shape the Forest, including the role of Commoners and free-roaming livestock.

Further walks are scheduled for 29 October, 27 November and 17 December, giving visitors the chance to experience the New Forest at several different points in the season.

Our animals will, of course, still be here to welcome visitors throughout the autumn. A trip to Hockey’s can easily become more than a shopping stop: enjoy breakfast, lunch, coffee or cake in the Farmyard Cafe, visit the animals and pick up everything needed for supper before heading home.

Christmas Early Bird orders are now open

We know September can feel early to mention Christmas, but our butchers prepare every Christmas order individually by hand and the number of orders we can accept is limited. Planning early is the best way to secure the centrepiece and trimmings you want without having to make every final decision now.

Our Christmas 2026 Early Bird offer allows you to reserve your order with a £20 deposit. The full £20 is deducted from your final bill, and every deposit placed through the Early Bird system will also receive a free Hockey’s gift.

When reserving, you can tell us whether you are considering turkey, goose, a rib of beef, gammon, pigs in blankets or the whole Christmas table. If you have not decided yet, simply give us a rough idea. We will contact you when the complete Christmas Order Sheet is released by the end of October and help you finalise everything properly.

Early Bird availability will finish soon, so anyone hoping to order their Christmas meat from Hockey’s is encouraged to secure a place now. You can reserve your Christmas order online for £20.

Welcome the new season at Hockey’s

September is not simply the end of summer. At Hockey’s, it marks the beginning of harvest cooking, autumn events and one of the most important traditions in the New Forest calendar.

From the start of pannage on 14 September and the arrival of seasonal produce to our Harvest Nights, guided walks and Christmas Early Bird offer, there is plenty to look forward to in South Gorley.

Whether you are calling in for the weekly shop, searching for an easy family supper, meeting friends in the Farmyard Cafe or introducing the children to our animals, we look forward to welcoming you to Hockey’s Farm Shop this September.