Manx produce — Loaghtan lamb, island cheese, farm shops and markets

The Isle of Man is mostly farmland, and a fair amount of what’s grown here stays here. There’s a native sheep with its own protected name, a dairy owned by the farmers who supply it, a flour mill that uses island wheat, and an ice cream maker in Peel. This page is about what’s worth seeking out and where to buy it: in a farm shop, at a market or off a supermarket shelf. For the dishes to eat, start with our Manx food guide. The seafood has its own pages: queenies and kippers.

The short version

Product	Who makes it	Where to buy
Loaghtan lamb	Registered island flocks	Farm shop, butchers, restaurant menus
Cheese, butter, milk	Isle of Man Creamery	Every island supermarket
Manx beef and pork	Farmers via Isle of Man Meats	Tesco, butchers
Eggs	Gellings and other farms	Supermarkets, SPAR, markets
Flour	Laxey Glen Mills	Most island shops
Ice cream	Davison’s, Peel	The Peel parlour, shops and vans

Manx Loaghtan lamb

The Loaghtan (say “lock-tan”) is the island’s native sheep: small, brown and hardy, and often with four horns. The name comes from the Manx for the colour of its fleece. Isle of Man Manx Loaghtan Lamb gained protected designation of origin in April 2008, and moved to the UK scheme at the end of 2020 (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).

To carry the name, the meat must come from purebred Loaghtans registered with the breed society, and the animals must be born, raised and slaughtered on the island. The specification describes the meat as fine-grained, darker and less fatty than commercial lamb, with a gamey flavour. It’s often compared to venison. The flocks graze rough pasture, gorse and heather, which is where the flavour comes from.

You won’t find it in a supermarket. Look for it on restaurant menus, at the Isle of Man Farm Shop, which stocks it, or from farms that sell direct. If you see it on a menu, order it.

Isle of Man Creamery: cheese, butter and milk

The island’s dairy is the Isle of Man Creamery, a co-operative owned by the dairy farms that supply it. The creamery dates from 1919, and the farmers’ co-operative from 1934. It moved to its current site at Tromode, just outside Douglas, in 1974. About 30 family farms supply it (Isle of Man Creamery (opens in a new tab)).

• Cheese: mostly cheddar, from mild to a vintage matured for 15 to 18 months, plus Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, and oak-smoked and flavoured cheddars. The cracked peppercorn cheddar has won gold at the World Cheese Awards (range (opens in a new tab)). This is the cheese in your chips, cheese and gravy.
• Butter and cream: Manx butter, salted and unsalted, and cream. Good enough to take home in a cool bag.
• Where to buy: every supermarket and corner shop on the island. There’s no visitor shop at the creamery. Residents can get a doorstep delivery.

Meat, eggs and flour

• Beef and pork: the island has one abattoir, Isle of Man Meats at Tromode, which the government has been working to put on a firmer footing. In November 2025 it launched a Manx beef and pork range in Tesco, including sausages, bacon, burgers and meatballs, with Manx lamb in development (Isle of Man Today (opens in a new tab)). Island butchers and the farm shop sell Manx meat too.
• Eggs: Gellings Free Range Eggs at Baldrine is one of the best-known egg farms. SPAR lists it among its local suppliers, alongside the Creamery, Okell’s, Laxey Glen Mills, Isle of Man Meats and Davison’s (SPAR Isle of Man (opens in a new tab)).
• Flour: Laxey Glen Mills has milled flour in Laxey since 1860, using wheat grown by Manx farmers on the northern plain. It’s in most shops on the island (Laxey Glen Mills (opens in a new tab)).

Ice cream

Davison’s makes its ice cream in Peel, using Manx dairy cream. Its parlour on Shore Road, on the prom, opened in 2005. It’s open all year, 10am–5.30pm from April to September and 10am–4.30pm in winter, and closed only on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day (Davison’s (opens in a new tab), September 2026). You’ll also find tubs in island shops, and Davison’s vans at events.

The Isle of Man Farm Shop

The easiest way to see the whole island’s larder in one room. The Isle of Man Farm Shop is in the Swiss Chalet at Glen Helen, on the road between St John’s and Kirk Michael. It sells only Manx goods, including fresh meat, Loaghtan lamb, dairy, baking, seasonal veg, spirits and crafts, and it has a café. It also runs tastings, masterclasses and seasonal markets.

It’s open Monday to Saturday 9.30am–5.30pm and Sunday 10am–4pm, and offers delivery on the island through the Dazzler app (farmshop.im (opens in a new tab), September 2026). It’s a good stop on the way to or from a walk in Glen Helen.

Farmers’ markets

There are four regular markets, all run by Isle of Man Farmers Markets (opens in a new tab). The times below were checked in September 2026.

Market	When	Where
St Johns	Every Thursday, 11am–3pm	St Johns Church Hall, Main Road
Ramsey	Every Saturday, from 10am	The Courthouse, Water Street
Onchan	1st and 3rd Friday, 11am–4pm	Village Walk precinct
Colby	3rd Sunday of the month, 11am–2pm	Colby Football Club

Expect vegetables, meat, eggs, baking, jams, pickles and local honey, with the producers behind the table. Ramsey’s closing time is given as 2pm by Visit Isle of Man (opens in a new tab) and 4pm by the organisers, so go in the morning.

Other shops worth knowing

• Robinson’s Fresh Foods, a family business since 1886, has a big food hall on Cooil Road outside Douglas and a shop on Prospect Terrace in the town centre. It stocks local fish and shellfish, fish from its own smokehouse, fresh bread and Manx produce, and makes up Manx hampers (robinsons.im (opens in a new tab)). Cooil Road is open Monday to Friday 8am–6pm, Saturday 8am–5pm and Sunday 10am–4pm.
• Supermarkets: Tesco and SPAR both carry a fair amount of Manx produce. See Isle of Man supermarkets.
• Drinks: Manx beer, gin and rum have their own page: beer and gin.