Where to go summer fruit picking in England

Located conveniently close to the M25, and home to 50 acres of fields, award-winning Parkside Farm is certainly one of London’s best when it comes to pick-your-own fruit.

Instead of traipsing around a supermarket, why not make the most of the great outdoors and head out into the fields to pick, pick, pick to your heart’s content – or, at least, until you’ve filled your basket. There’s everything from blackberries to courgettes, juicy beetroots to table-top strawbs (meaning you don’t have to bend down!). And once you’re all stocked up, why not grab a pot of cream from the farm shop and head to nearby Trent Park for a leisurely picnic?

From the first strawberries in spring to the last pumpkins in autumn, Yorkshire’s Balloon Tree Farm has plenty of pick-your-own produce. When you arrive, collect your punnets and follow the map to the best fields of the day, where blackcurrants, blueberries and even runner beans are waiting to be plucked. As well as the traditional growing methods, the farm also grows table-top strawberries, to make picking easier for little legs.

After your time in the fields, settle down with a well-deserved drink at the farm’s café while the kids go wild in the play area – complete with a two-storey Wendy house, a mini digger and tractor.

From rhubarb to beetroot, asparagus to carrots and strawberries to pumpkins, there's an array of different fruits and vegetables you can pick at this Surrey-based farm. Their main picking season runs from April to September and is a fantastic summer activity for all the family. You can reward your efforts with a scoop or two at the onsite ice cream parlour and, if you’ve been inspired to have a go at growing your own at home, pick up some seeds at the garden centre.

Set in the scenic Derbyshire countryside, Scaddows Farm is a great spot for a day of family fruit picking. packing in some of their five-a-day! Bring your own container (or rent one from the farm) and head out into the fields to rummage for strawberries, raspberries or blackcurrants. But while the fruits are bound to be delicious, you’ll have to resist the temptation to tuck in while out in the fields. After they’ve been weighed and paid for, you can let the fruit feast begin!

Why fill your fridge with plastic packaging when you can pick fresh strawberries, blueberries, plums and even rhubarb at this West Midlands farm? Before you set off into the fields, you’ll have to pay a small deposit per picker (children under 3 go free!) which will be taken off the cost of your punnet after you’ve finished. Then you’re free to explore the 50 acres of crops, to hunt down the biggest, sweetest produce you can find! If you need to top up on the veggies, then at certain times of year you can also pick your own sweetcorn, courgettes and runner beans.

If you fancy giving your little ones a challenge, then stop by the farm’s Plant Nursery to buy some herbs to grow at home.

Dive head first into summer with fruit picking at this farm in Cornwall. Set amongst 28 acres of countryside, you can pick everything from strawberries to gooseberries, blackcurrants to broad beans throughout the summer months. The pickable fruit and veg are also accompanied by information signs so you can learn all about the colourful foods while you wander. After you’re all picked out, grab a bite to eat in the farm restaurant which serves cakes, light bites and even 3-course set meals. 

This 200-acre slice of Devon heaven is found on the banks of the River Lyd and lets you berry pick to your heart’s content from mid-June every year. Fill up your fruit baskets among hay bales decorated as Peter Rabbit and stop to say hello to the novelty scarecrows before fuelling up on pasties and pastries from the restaurant’s afternoon tea mini picnic tables. If you’re visiting in the late summer months, you can also pick your own wildflowers and sunflowers, before the farm starts preparing for its annual autumn pumpkin fest!

A few miles south of Peterborough, this eco-conscious farm not only lets you pick your own fruit but runs a Natural England scheme to protect hedgerows and watercourses, preserve grassland and provide wild bird feeding areas, giving it even more of a reason to visit! You’ll have to walk uphill to get to Hill Farm (hence its name) but once here you’ll be rewarded with awe-inspiring views as you pick strawberries, raspberries and tayberries, as well as a load of other ripe-and-ready produce. There’s also a farm shop here, a playground for the kiddies and a handful of playful sheepdogs (they’re big fans of a game of catch). 

Pick up punnets, baskets and bags from the farm shop before making a beeline for the fields where you can pick firm favourites like strawberries, raspberries and cherries, as well as other summer harvests like asparagus, runner beans and blackcurrants. You can find your way around the Copas Farms Fruit Fields by following the handy farmer map and once you’re done, all that’s left is to weigh and pay for your freshly hand-picked produce! Remember to buy a fruit voucher online before you visit, or pop by on one of the farm’s Fruit Festival Days where you can eat the fruit while you pick (it’s not allowed on normal PYO days) and picnic in the colourful countryside.