Chiddingstone Dairy is the passion project of local farmers Paul Vicary and Alistair Laing, dairy farmers with a combined 40 years experience. They believe that happy cows produce high-quality milk, and that the happiest cows are those who are free to roam the lush green fields of the Kentish countryside, grazing on grass as nature intended.

They were frustrated with the current system, where farms sell their milk to processing companies, the product is mixed with that of other farms, freighted around the country to centralised processing plants and then freighted back out to supermarket distribution hubs and finally on to local stores where customers drive to collect their milk in single-use plastic bottles.  That is a lot of miles for a locally produced product!  Buying locally from Chiddingstone Dairy means a reduction in your carbon footprint as well as fresher milk, that has travelled no more than 5 miles from farm to fridge.

Why choose Chiddingstone Dairy?

  • Fresh milk (less than 24 hours from our dairy to your doorstep)
  • Delivered direct to your door
  • Free-range cows, who graze on fields as much of the year as possible
  • Lower carbon footprint (less than 5 miles from our farm to your fridge)
  • Returnable glass bottles (no plastic)
  • Online subscription which you can pause, skip or cancel with ease.

How does it work?

We offer a subscription-based milk delivery service, with multiple drops each week.

Simply choose the type of milk you prefer (whole, semi or skimmed), number of litres of each, and your preferred delivery days and we will deliver direct to your door the following week.

Our Team

Meet Paul: Co-founder, dairy farmer, ideas man.

Paul’s family has been farming on Kentish land since the early 1940s.  He is a fourth generation farmer with 3 kids of his own who you will often see mucking in to help out on the farm.  Paul is a natural entrepreneur, always keen to branch out into something new or test a new idea.  Having previously tried other systems, Paul is a keen advocate for grass-based farming as he has found this to be the best way to ensure both land and animals are as healthy and happy as possible.

Paul is a man with his fingers in many pies, who is deeply invested in making the community a great place to live.  He sits on the local council, residents association trust, and fishing club (the WI might be next).  Paul can often be found causing trouble with his 3 kids on the farm, sneaking a quiet moment riverside fishing for chub, or popping to Alistair’s house for a quick cup of tea and a chat (white with one, if you please).

Meet Alistair: Co-founder, dairy farmer, numbers guy.

Alistair is a 3rd generation farmer with over 22 years of experience.  He hails from sunny New Zealand which is renowned for leading the industry in its grass-based farming systems.  Funnily enough, this is the farming style we use  here at Chiddingstone Dairy – where the cows are kept outside to graze naturally in fields for as much of the year as possible. We believe that this makes for happy, healthy cows and high quality milk.

Alistair made the move to the Garden of England with his Aussie missus in 2016 and never looked back (must be the weather that keeps them here).  He could talk all day about grass – and often does – and is a passionate believer that healthy happy cows produce the best quality milk.  He can often be found in a field wearing an All Blacks jersey, drinking our whole milk straight from the bottle….often with a good dollop of chocolate syrup mixed in.

Meet Emily: Office manager, wonder woman, generally holds the ship together.

Emily is a woman of many talents: teacher’s assistant by day, Chiddingstone Dairy office manager by night, parent of 3 high energy kids all the hours in between.  She married into farming when she wed Paul in 2007 (lucky chap) and has learnt just about all there is to know about the back-end of the business, managing the books and making sure everything runs smoothly.

If you are looking for someone to brighten your day, join you in a country ramble or share a funny story, Emily is your woman.  She can often be found with a glass of white wine in hand or making tik-toks with her 3 kids (Chiddingstone Dairy dance-off, anyone?).