You might think of the seaside when you think of ice cream, but us landlubbers in the Cotswolds needn’t travel far for a 99. There’s fresh locally-made ice cream being made right across the region, so here’s our pick of the ten best places to grab a scoopful...
Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream, Rodborough Common nr. Stroud
Nestled on the edge of the green hills of the National Trust’s Rodborough Common in Gloucestershire is Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream Parlour. The shop serves more than 100,000 customers per year its award-winning ice creams and sorbets, made on site using fresh local produce.
Flavours include tried and tested favourites, as well as indulgent combinations such as butterscotch chip, banana & toffee, chocolate fudge brownie, spiced plum, rum and raisin, among others. Ice cream can be bought by the scoop or by the litre, and the shop is open seven days a week from 10am-5pm!
Chedworth Ice Cream, Chedworth
Chedworth Ice Cream use the thickest yellow cream, the freshest whole milk and the finest flavours for their Italian-style gelato ice cream, all sourced from the cows on their farm.
The ice cream parlour is in the café at Chedworth Farm Shop and is open seven days a week, offering knickerbockerglories, ice cream sundaes, banana splits, ice cream milkshakes and sodas, and much more. During the summer, there’s even a beer ice cream developed with Cotswold Lion Brewery!
Dolcetti, Cirencester / Cheltenham
Dolcetti is a family-run business in Cirencester, making artisan Italian gelato, sorbets and unique ice cream cakes. They run a parlour from their factory, pop-ups at various events and venues around Gloucestershire and have now branched out on to the high street with a dedicated café in Cheltenham.
Every five litre batch of their handmade ice cream is produced using traditional methods with fresh creamy milk. Flavours of ice cream and sorbet on offer include honey and ginger, Cotswold cream, salted caramel, mint chocolate, pistachio and many more.
Marshfield Farm, Chippenham
Marshfield Farm’s award-winning dairy ice creams and sorbets are all made on-site, with almost thirty flavours ranging from chocolate and fudge to refreshing fruit numbers. Their ice cream is made using real organic milk produced from their herd of two-hundred Friesian cows on their 1,000-acre farm.
Marshfield Farm sell directly from their farm shop, as well as from farm shops across the country with many stockists in the Cotswolds. As well as farm shops, Marshfield supplies all sorts of outlets from cinemas, theatres and pubs, to delis, seaside resorts and tearooms. You’ll even find their ice creams and sorbets at tourist sites such as The Tower of London!
Hillbrooks Farm, Kempley
Hillbrooks Luxury Ice Cream can be found at the family run Hillbrooks Farm buried in the charming village of Kempley, near Newent. Only using natural ingredients, the ice creams and sorbets are delicious and distinctive with flavours ranging from the more traditional to the slightly alternative (including perfect-for-the-summer Pimm’s).
Ice-creams and sorbets are available in a variety of different tubs and can be purchased directly from the farm throughout the week. Ringing ahead is advised before your visit.
Harriet’s Jolly Nice, Frampton Mansell nr. Stroud
Winner of ‘Best Independent Retailer Award’ at The Cotswold Food & Drink Awards 2016, Harriet Wilson, founder of farm shop Jolly Nice, lends her name to the hand-made ice cream produced using milk and cream from the Shorthorn cows on her family’s farm.
The ice creams are sold exclusively at the farm shop and pit stop café, and Jolly Nice offers six core flavours; vanilla, dark chocolate, salted caramel, gooseberry & elderflower, rhubarb & crumble and raisin & sherry.
These favourites are sold alongside an ever-changing range of special edition flavours including Guinness, cider brandy eggnog, peanut butter and milk chocolate, spiced pear, coffee with honey and almond brittle, among many other delicious combinations. The farm shop is open seven days a week, 8am-7pm.
The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter
The Old Mill isn’t just a museum, gift shop and café - it’s also an ice cream parlour!
Hand-made with all natural ingredients, the ice cream at Old Mill comes in flavours including vanilla, butter crunch, ground coffee, rum & raisin, wild strawberry and pistachio. And where better to enjoy a cone of tasty ice cream than in one of the most beautiful villages in the Cotswolds?
Gelateria Amelia, Cheltenham
Run by a husband and wife team, Gelateria Amelia offers organic ice cream and sorbet, hand-made every day and sold by the scoopful. You could even try a little dolloped on one of their freshly made hot waffles.
They also make doppiozero: ice cream and sorbets with little sugar or fat, utilising plant sweetener instead of the usual high-sugar content for a guilt-free treat!
Milkbar, Cheltenham
Another Cheltenham-based parlour, Milkbar serves hand-made gelato ice cream and sorbet by the scoop or by the tub.
The fresh, rich and creamy gelato is made in small batches using organic milk from a local dairy, and the flavours on offer include white chocolate, salted caramel, pecan & maple, organic yoghurt, peanut, Oreo, Baileys, and pistachio, among others, with the line-up changing constantly. The staff at Milkbar also serve up sundaes, milkshakes as well as warm crepes and waffles to indulge your sweet tooth.
For more food and drink in Cheltenham you might want to take a look at our pick of the town’s best restaurants, burger places, curry houses, boozy brunches, bars to enjoy a glass of Friday fizz and pubs with beer gardens.
Flavours Ice Cream Parlour, Evesham
Flavours in Evesham isn’t just an Italian restaurant, it’s an ice cream parlour too! Alongside freshly made pizza and hot coffee, hand-made ice cream is sold to those looking for a little treat, with flavours including banoffee, pannacotta, ginger, mint, chocolate and many more on offer.
It’s traditional Italian ice cream, made by traditional Italians, in the heart of rural Worcestershire.
