Cookies are small pieces of information stored by a website or service on your device.

We also use, or allow our service providers to use, similar technologies including browser local storage, scripts and other technologies that can store information on your device or access information already stored there.

These technologies can perform a variety of functions, from remembering what you have placed in your basket to helping protect online forms from spam.

In this policy, we sometimes use the term cookies for convenience, but the information below also applies to similar storage and access technologies where relevant.

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• keep our website secure;

• remember your cookie preferences;

• remember that you have completed our website age-verification check;

• operate our shopping basket and checkout;

• process payments securely;

• protect forms and payments against spam, bots and fraud;

• understand how visitors use our website where you have allowed Performance & Analytics technologies; and

• provide third-party features such as maps and embedded social-media content.

Where consent is required, optional technologies are not enabled unless you have made the appropriate choice through our cookie controls.

Keeping Everything Working

Necessary technologies support functions that are required for our website and services to operate.

These include security technologies, our age-verification system, cookie-preference storage, shopping-basket functions, checkout and payment security.

Examples currently used on our website include:

crumb — Squarespace
A session cookie used to help protect the website against cross-site request forgery and other unauthorised requests.

CART — Squarespace
Used when you add a product to your shopping basket so that your basket can be maintained as you move around the website. This is normally stored for up to two weeks.

hasCart — Squarespace
Tells Squarespace that your browser currently has a shopping basket. This is normally stored for up to two weeks.

ss_performanceCookiesAllowed — Squarespace
Remembers whether you have allowed or declined Performance & Analytics cookies. This is normally stored for 30 days.

ss_marketingCookiesAllowed — Squarespace
Remembers whether you have allowed or declined Advertising cookies. This is normally stored for 30 days.

wmw_age_verified — Wessex Mead Works
Browser storage used by our age-verification screen to remember that you have confirmed you are aged 18 or over. This is currently stored for approximately 30 days.

Squarespace and our other service providers may also use short-lived technical technologies to check browser compatibility, maintain security or provide the service you have requested.

Helping Us Improve

If you allow Performance & Analytics technologies, Squarespace may place analytics cookies on your device to help us understand how visitors interact with our website.

These technologies help provide information such as visitor numbers, browsing sessions and how the website is being used.

Our testing currently identifies the following analytics cookies on our website:

ss_cvr — Squarespace
Used to identify unique visitors and track browsing sessions. Squarespace states that this may remain for up to two years.

ss_cvt — Squarespace
Used to identify visitors and track browsing sessions. This normally remains for approximately 30 minutes.

Squarespace may change the technical cookies it uses as its services develop.

We configure our website so that these optional analytics technologies are not enabled when Performance & Analytics has been declined.

Optional Marketing Technologies

Our cookie controls include an Advertising category.

Advertising technologies can be used for purposes such as measuring advertising, understanding whether an advertisement resulted in a visit or purchase, or providing advertising based on a person's interests.

We do not currently use a dedicated behavioural advertising platform such as Google Ads or the Meta Pixel on the Wessex Mead Works website.

If we introduce advertising or marketing technologies in the future, we will review our cookie controls and update this policy to explain what is being used and why.

Technologies used for advertising purposes will only be enabled where the required permission has been given.

Keeping Payments Secure

When you use our shop or checkout, additional necessary technologies are used to provide the service securely.

Squarespace Commerce

Squarespace provides our online shop and checkout system.

Necessary technologies such as CART, hasCart and security cookies are used to remember your basket, maintain the checkout process and protect transactions.

Stripe

Stripe provides payment-processing technology used during our checkout.

When the checkout is loaded, your browser connects to Stripe and Stripe may use cookies, scripts and other device or activity signals to:

• process payments;

• securely collect payment information;

• identify potentially fraudulent transactions;

• detect automated or suspicious activity; and

• protect both customers and Wessex Mead Works against payment fraud.

These technologies are required to provide secure card-payment functionality.

hCaptcha

Stripe may use hCaptcha as part of its fraud-prevention system.

hCaptcha helps distinguish legitimate customers from automated activity, bots or attempted fraud and may use cookies or similar technologies when checkout is being used.

These security technologies may operate even when optional Performance & Analytics and Advertising cookies have been declined because they support the secure payment service you have requested.

Protecting Our Contact Forms

Some forms on our website are protected by Google reCAPTCHA.

Google reCAPTCHA is used to help identify automated submissions, spam and other potentially abusive activity.

When a protected form is loaded, your browser may connect to Google and Google may use security cookies, browser storage or other technical information as part of the reCAPTCHA service.

This can include information such as browser and device characteristics and network information.

We use reCAPTCHA for security and anti-spam purposes rather than for advertising.

Not every page on our website loads reCAPTCHA. It is primarily used where a protected form is present.

Content From Other Services

Some pages include content or functionality provided by third-party services.

When this content is loaded, your browser may communicate directly with that provider. This can involve sharing technical information such as your IP address, browser type and information about the page from which the service was accessed.

Google Maps

Some of our event pages use Google Maps to show the location of markets, festivals and other events we will be attending.

When a map is displayed, your browser connects to Google Maps services so that the map, location information and map imagery can be loaded.

In our current configuration, we have not observed optional Google Maps cookies being stored when visitors have selected Decline All, although the map itself still needs to communicate with Google to display its content.

Google processes information relating to the use of its services in accordance with its own privacy policies and terms.

Instagram

Some pages may contain posts, photographs or videos embedded from Instagram.

When Instagram content is loaded, your browser may communicate directly with Instagram or Meta and technical information may be shared with them.

Instagram may also use its own cookies or similar technologies depending on your browser, Instagram account and privacy settings.

Some browsers and privacy-protection tools may block embedded Instagram content until you choose to allow it. If this happens, the rest of our website can still be used normally.

Instagram and Meta process information in accordance with their own privacy and cookie policies.

• crumb

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Website security and CSRF protection

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: Session

• CART

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Maintains the shopping basket

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: Up to 2 weeks

• hasCart

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Remembers that a visitor has a basket

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: Up to 2 weeks

• ss_performanceCookiesAllowed

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Remembers Analytics preference

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: 30 days

• ss_marketingCookiesAllowed

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Remembers Advertising preference

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: 30 days

• wmw_age_verified

  • Provider: Wessex Mead Works

  • Purpose: Remembers successful age confirmation

  • Type: Local storage

  • Typical duration: Approximately 30 days

• ss_cvr

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Visitor and session analytics

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: Up to 2 years

• ss_cvt

  • Provider: Squarespace

  • Purpose: Visitor and session analytics

  • Type: Cookie

  • Typical duration: Approximately 30 minutes

• reCAPTCHA technologies

  • Provider: Google

  • Purpose: Form security and spam prevention

  • Type: Cookies and browser technologies

  • Typical duration: Varies

• Stripe technologies

  • Provider: Stripe

  • Purpose: Payment processing and fraud prevention

  • Type: Cookies, scripts and device signals

  • Typical duration: Varies

• hCaptcha technologies

  • Provider: hCaptcha / Stripe

  • Purpose: Checkout security and fraud prevention

  • Type: Cookies and browser technologies

  • Typical duration: Varies

• Google Maps

  • Provider: Google

  • Purpose: Displays event-location maps

  • Type: Third-party service

  • Typical duration: As required to provide the map

• Instagram embeds

  • Provider: Meta / Instagram

  • Purpose: Displays embedded social-media content

  • Type: Third-party service

  • Typical duration: Depends on the provider and browser settings

The Choice Is Yours

When you first visit our website, you can choose:

Accept All — allows optional Performance & Analytics and Advertising technologies.

Decline All — prevents optional Performance & Analytics and Advertising technologies from being enabled.

Manage Cookies — allows you to choose which optional categories you wish to allow.

Necessary technologies remain active because they are required for core website functions, security, shopping, checkout and other services you request.

You can change your optional cookie preferences at any time by reopening our cookie-preference controls.

Changing your preferences does not necessarily remove information that has already been stored by your browser. You can also remove cookies and website data through your browser settings.

Blocking necessary technologies through your browser may prevent some parts of the website, such as the shopping basket or checkout, from working correctly.

Some of the technologies described in this policy may involve the processing of personal information.

Information about how we collect, use, share and protect personal information, together with your rights under UK data-protection law, can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Our third-party providers, including Squarespace, Stripe, Google and Meta, also process information in accordance with their own privacy policies.

Keeping Things Up To Date

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example if:

• we introduce new website features;

• the cookies or technologies used by Squarespace change;

• we introduce or remove third-party services;

• our advertising or analytics arrangements change; or

• applicable law or regulatory guidance changes.

The date shown at the top of this page tells you when the policy was last updated.

Questions About Cookies?

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy, the technologies used on our website or how we handle your personal information, please get in touch.

Wessex Mead Works
Email: info@wessexmeadworks.co.uk

You can also contact us through our Contact Us page.

For more information about how we use and protect personal information, please see our Privacy Policy.