Why We’re Proud to Support Love Lamb Week

At Cranstons, we’re proud to champion Cumbrian lamb this Love Lamb Week (1st – 7th September). The national campaign highlights just how delicious, versatile, and sustainable British lamb is – and for us, it’s the perfect opportunity to showcase the superb quality lamb we prepare every single day for our customers.

We buy around 30 locally reared lambs every week, sourcing direct from trusted Cumbrian farmers and through local marts. Our skilled butchers handle the whole animal, creating over 40 different cuts and products – from traditional Sunday joints and lamb chops to customer favourites like lamb kofta kebabs, lamb burgers, slow-cook shoulders, and lamb steak with black garlic.

“Cumbrian lamb is a superb product,” says Peter Potts, Head of Retail at Cranstons. “The lambs we source are typically outdoor reared in the Cumbrian countryside, grazing pasture which makes for wonderfully flavourful meat. Love Lamb Week gives us the perfect opportunity to highlight lamb’s credentials – but for us, it’s something we celebrate all year round.”

Our lamb comes from some of the region’s best farmers, including Mark Dodgson of Spital Farm, Kendal, who regularly supplies us with outstanding quality lambs:

“Love Lamb Week is a great opportunity for the industry to highlight what a great product lamb is, Cumbrian lamb is at its absolute best at this time of year when lamb’s born in the spring reach maturity. Lamb is such a tasty meat and here in Cumbria we are fantastic at producing it.’’

We also source lamb through Penrith and District Farmers Mart, where auctioneer Paul Gardner sees some of the best local lamb sold every week:

‘’Penrith Mart is proud to operate in an area renowned for producing great lamb. The high fells and lush valleys of Cumbria are ideal for rearing flavourful lamb. Local marts like Penrith offer a great selection of lamb from different local farms throughout the year on a weekly basis for butchers like Cranstons to buy from. Events like Love Lamb week are a great opportunity to highlight to consumers how sustainable, versatile, and tasty lamb and to remind people that Cumbrian Lamb is particularly good in the high summer and Autumn’’.

Love Lamb Week was first launched in 2015 to encourage people to enjoy lamb at its peak season – late summer into autumn – when lambs are grass-fed and full of flavour. While many still associate lamb with Easter, it’s during September that lamb really comes into its own.

At Cranstons, we’re proud to bring the best of Cumbrian lamb to your table – whether you’re roasting a shoulder for Sunday lunch, grilling lamb chops midweek, slow-cooking a henry, or firing up the barbecue with our lamb burgers and kebabs.

This Love Lamb Week, join us in celebrating a meat that’s truly part of our Cumbrian heritage, packed with flavour, and prepared with care by our butchers.