West Fisher Winery - A Surrey English Winery Setting Up Home at Elm Farm, Warlingham
West Fisher Winery - A New Chapter on the Surrey Downs
After several years spent keeping a small English winemaking dream alive on the old Clacket Lane site, West Fisher Winery has packed up, moved south and started again. The team has taken on a 33-year agricultural lease at The Courtyard, Elm Farm, on Old Farleigh Road in Warlingham, Surrey (postcode CR6 9PE), and they are currently busy fitting out four stone-built courtyard buildings ahead of a first public opening at the end of August or in September 2026.
Run as a deliberately small, agricultural-scale operation, West Fisher is both an estate producer and a contract winery, taking in grapes from other small UK growers, pressing, fermenting and bottling on their behalf. They are an active member of the UK wine-producing community, they are reintroducing their liqueur range for 2026, and they have built a reputation for being open, hands-on and unapologetically unstuffy with visitors.
A Move from Clacket Lane to Elm Farm
The decision to leave Clacket Lane was not taken lightly. In their own words, the previous site "kept the dream alive but has not been the easiest of roads," and the team finally closed at the old premises in mid-May. By 4 June they were physically in at the new farm, beginning the much larger project of renovating four separate courtyard buildings - two of which, they admit, are on the verge of falling down.
Elm Farm is shared with the Surrey Wildlife Trust, who hold the majority of the wider holding, including the larger barns, the old milking shed, a listed farmhouse and most of the surrounding land. West Fisher's lease, granted by Merton College, covers just the original courtyard buildings and a rear parking area. That agricultural classification is important: there is no industrial use on the site, only small trucks arriving with harvest grapes by car or van, plus occasional contract-wine shipments in the early part of the year.
The team have publicly invited neighbours and visitors to come and talk to them if they have any concerns about what is going on at the farm, and report that Surrey Wildlife Trust are actively looking forward to having an occupied neighbour on site, both for security and for the benefit of restoring the courtyard and outbuildings.
What Is Being Built
Rather than one quick fix-up, the Elm Farm project is being treated as a multi-year build-out. The team confidently predict around two years of works before everything is fitted out, and probably a third year to "spit, shine and polish". The current work includes:
- New gates, fencing and drainage across the courtyard
- Mains power, security cameras and security lighting
- A modest, single-storey tasting room with disabled access and outside seating directly outside
- Customer toilets
- A separate courtyard on the other side with additional outdoor seating
- A first proper office for the winemaker - something he has missed for a long time
- A workshop
- Space for up to four camper vans to park overnight in the courtyard, with optional water hook-up and power (chargeable)
- A car park, which is still being finished
Once complete, the new site will give West Fisher more than double the square footage of the old Clacket Lane premises, all of it on a single accessible level, with the bonus of a concrete courtyard for tables and a 16-acre field behind the car park where dogs can be walked.
What Is on the Bar
The new tasting room is roughly 20% larger than the old one, and the offer is being deliberately broadened to bring in passing trade as well as booked tastings. Alongside the wines, customers will be able to drop in for:
- Coffee, tea and soft drinks
- Beer, cider, wine and spirits
- Pizza, bacon rolls and (eventually) cakes
- Cheese and charcuterie boards, which are already proving extremely popular
The team's stated ethos is simple: "If the gates are open then we are open!". They are aiming for dog walkers, hikers, cyclists and horse riders to use the site as a morning coffee stop, with several public footpaths on the doorstep to combine a walk with a visit. Children and dogs are both welcome (dogs on a lead please, for the safety of other guests).
English & UK Winemaking
West Fisher describe themselves as "committed to the production of quality wines and small producers". The 2025 harvest has already been put through the winery and is resting in tank or barrel, and the team are also using the breathing space after the move to reintroduce their liqueur range for 2026, time and capacity permitting.
Although West Fisher are not a vineyard themselves - a distinction they are at pains to point out, after Activity Superstore persisted in listing them as one - they are firmly part of the UK wine story. Their work on the contract side, taking grapes from growers who cannot justify their own winery, helps keep those smaller plantings viable. They are happy, during a tasting, to walk visitors through the winemaking equipment, explain the process and answer questions about English and Welsh wine production as a whole.
Visiting & Tastings
Tastings can be booked via the online booking page, with bookings opening from the end of August / September 2026 onwards, once the tasting room is ready. The headline format is a guided tasting of any six of the wines currently available, in any order you like, paired with food and plenty of opportunity to ask questions.
Standard tasting prices
- 2 people with cheese & biscuit platter: £50
- 4 people with cheese & biscuit platter: £90
- 2 people with cheese & charcuterie board (light lunch): £70
- 4 people with cheese & charcuterie board: £120
All major credit and debit cards are accepted, and any of the wines tried on the day can be purchased to enjoy on site or to take home. A 50% deposit is required to secure any booking. Wines can also be ordered via the online shop (being relaunched after the move) and the winery offers free local delivery on wine orders, which can also be placed by phone.
Groups, private events & dietary requirements
For parties of ten or more, West Fisher offer a buffet service at £20 per person. Specific catering or event requirements are best discussed directly with the team. Gluten-free biscuits are stocked as standard, but guests are asked to flag dietary needs in the booking notes so the team can make sure they have enough in stock on the day.
How to find them
The address is West Fisher, The Courtyard, Elm Farm, Old Farleigh Road, Farleigh Common, Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PE. The what3words reference is turns.brush.goal. A Google Maps search for the full postal address will drop a pin on the courtyard.
Shop, Delivery & Refunds
Wines and liqueurs are both available direct from the winery, either for collection or for free local delivery, and customers are welcome to drop in if they are passing. The online shop is currently being rebuilt; if a particular wine cannot be seen in stock, calling 07760 437 185 will confirm availability.
West Fisher run a no-quibble refund policy and are quietly proud that their returns rate sits at under 0.2% of gross sales - a useful tell for a small producer shipping direct to the public.
Markets, Shows & Events
Show dates and event appearances are confirmed by phone or via the contact page. Given the disruption of the move, the team's policy for 2026 is to focus very heavily on direct bookings and contract winemaking rather than attending large shows. The exception is Warlingham market, which they intend to attend "at least" in March, April and May. For the very latest opening times and weekend trade, the simplest route is to call 07760 437 185, or to book directly through the booking page or via their Groupon or Wowcher listings. Always mention the Groupon or Wowcher price at the time of booking to make sure the discount is applied.
New Site, Same Spitfire
One legacy piece of West Fisher's old identity is being kept firmly in place: The Spitfires - the light aircraft based at the old Clacket Lane site - still fly regularly over the new Elm Farm winery, so the Spitfire branding survives on banners and literature. The labels themselves, though, are due for a refresh, with the move from Clacket Lane to Farleigh Common too significant to leave unmentioned on the bottle.
The team have also finally said goodbye to the old basket press, which they had been sold as "working" but turned out to be a "death trap". It has been replaced for next year's harvest (2027), but not in time for the 2026 vintage.
Getting in Touch
The easiest ways to contact West Fisher Winery are:
- Email: info@westfisher.co.uk
- Phone / WhatsApp: 07760 437 185
- Bookings: westfisher.co.uk/bookings.html
- Shop: westfisher.co.uk/shop-online.html
- Facebook: facebook.com/westfisherwinery
- Instagram: @west_fisher_winery
Note that the old landline, 01959 561 372, no longer diverts to the team following the move - calls to that number are no longer answered. The mobile is the number to use for any enquiries until a new line is installed.
A Winery Worth Watching
West Fisher are open about the fact that the next two to three years will be about buildings, permissions, plumbing and signage rather than headline launches. Underneath that, though, there is a long-term, agricultural-scale winery taking shape: quietly producing English wines, running contract vintages for other small growers, building back the liqueur range, and offering genuine, dog-friendly Surrey tastings on a beautiful listed farmyard with a new courtyard tasting room at its heart.