Who loves a pick your own farm?
We do, we do, we do!
Now, as you know we are suckers for a day out and adventures. We in particular love pick your own farms, not just for their succulent fruits, but because we get to cook and make a ton of goodies with our fresh produce too.
Visiting a pick your own farm really encourage curiosity for gardening at home. I say that because this is how Cara, CoCo and I found our new found passion for gardening at home , which has kept us really busy since lockdown started.
And the best part, there's nothing like eating seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables.
(Kind of a win, win situation)
"Benefits of gardening for children cultivate incredible transferable skills"
Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:
* Responsibility
Caring and learning to look after new planted seedlings, pots and other gardening tools you need to help you along the way.
* Understanding
Understanding the cause and effect regarding watering your plants daily and the effects of you not doing so, which consequently means that they might not grow to their full potential.
* Fine motor skills (In young children)
Hand and eye coordination in younger children, along side it turning into sensory play when playing with the compost and flowers.
* Therapeutic
Being outside, touching the earth, planting seeds and looking after your seedlings brings a truly relaxing feeling to the mind and body.
So today I'm going to give you my top 5 "Pick Your Own Farm" that we absolutely love!
And in no particular order, coming in at number one..
Please note that you should call before heading out.
Garsons Farm - https://www.garsons.co.uk/pyo-farm/pyo-faq-s
Garsons farm is an award winning family run business going back to 1871. Garsons is a garden centre, which has a pick your own farm on site and also has a farm shop where you can buy fresh non picked produce. Garsons farm operates in Surrey and Hampshire.
We try to visit this farm as part of our annual family adventure, especially for their sunflowers.
There is so much do once you arrive, you can easily find yourself spending the whole day at the garden centre.
With 75 different varieties of fruit and veg which includes soft fruits, courgettes, strawberries, cherries, peas, seasonal sunflowers and so much more. There is a wide variety of not picked produce that you can also purchase.
The Pick Your Own Farm at Garsons Esher is open all week during peak season of July and August, and the picking season in general runs from June until October.
Entry Fee:
There is a £4 minimum spend charged on entry which is refunded against the total bill with a "weigh & pay" system at the exit.
Facilities:
* There are toilets available on site
* Baby changing facilities are also available (CLOSED DUE TO COVID)
* Children area (CLOSED DUE TO COVID)
* Picnic area also on site (CLOSED DUE TO COVID)
* Restaurants are (OPEN)
Contact Details:
Winterdown Road, Esher, Surrey, KT10 8LS
Find us 01372 460 181
Contact Us Opening hours: Mon to Sat 9am - 5pm Sun 11am – 5pm
OR
Fontley Road, Titchfield, Hampshire, PO15 6QX
Find us
01329 844 336
Contact Us Opening hours: Mon to Sat 9am - 5pm Sun 10:30am – 4:30pm
Review Time: Family Adventure
Honestly speaking, I absolutely love this (pyo) we always have such a blast and it's truly a full family day out. Esher itself is s beautiful little town and who knows what footballer you might bump into on your travels. (Wink, wink)
Park Side Farm - https://www.parksidefarmpyo.co.uk/plan-your-visit/
Parkside farm is a family ran business since 1938. The farm started of with a limited 4 acres of land and now the family ran business is sitting on close to 50 acres worth of land with different crops growing.
Entry by advance booking ONLY
Open Times:
Sunday (Varied Hours)
Monday (CLOSED)
Tuesday - Saturday (9:00-5:30)
Last Entry:
16:30pm
Transport:
Gordon Hill rail
Price:
£4 minimum spend
How it works:
You buy a Fruit Voucher in advance of your visit @ £4 per adult/child, & select a 15 minute entry time-slot. The value of the voucher will be fully refunded, provided you spend above that amount on PYO produce. Max. 2 hours picking time.
Come visit:
Parkside Farm Hadley Road Enfield Middlesex EN2 8LA
Contact:
020 8367 2035
Crop Update:
Currently Raspberries, Blackcurrants, Courgettes, French Beans, Broad Beans, Green Onions, Beetroot, Spinach & Swiss Chard. Strawberries are very limited at the moment and usually only available for an hour or two in the mornings. Unlikely to be any at the weekend!
CURRENT RESTRICTIONS:
Current Restrictions: (under constant review) There must be at least 1 adult for every child of 12 or under. Voucher sales limited to 5 per booking.
Facilities
* Ample Car Parking
* Containers Available
* Card Payments Only
* Toilets CLOSED*
* Picnic Area CLOSED*
Farm Shop
* Ice Creams
* Cold Drinks
* Meringues
* Parkside Honey
Review Time - Family Adventure
Parkside farm is a beautiful farm with a variety of fruit and veg, I love the fact that it's situated around other cool landmarks and nature parks, whenever we visit we make the most out of the surrounding areas as it's a bit of a drive for us. We don't tend to visit this farm annually, just because there are soo many other places we would like to visit. Parkside is definitely worth a re-visit once we've gone through our summer annual family adventures list.
Stanhill Farm - https://www.stanhillfarm.co.uk/pick-your-own
Stanhill Farm is a family ran business managed by two brothers and is currently sitting on 150 acres worth of land. The farm is located just 17 miles from the centre of London, making it one of the capitals most local farms.
Facilities:
* One Disabled portaloo
* One Toilet portaloo
* NO changing facilities on site
* Parking on site
* Cafe on site (OPEN)
* Farm shop on site (OPEN)
Opening Times:
Tuesday – Saturday: 9:30am - 5:00pm (last admission is 4:30pm)
Sundays & Bank Holidays: 10:00am - 4:00pm (last admission is 3:30pm)
!! 9:00am - 9:30am Tuesday - Friday is for the over 60's only !!
!! We are closing the PYO on Mondays to give the fields a chance to recover, and for more fruit to ripen !!
Prices:
*Strawberries - Punnet: £3.00
*Strawberries - Basket: £15.00
*Raspberries - Punnet: £3.00
Stanhill Farm:
Birchwood Road
Wilmington, Dartford,
Kent, DA2 7HD
Contact:
01322 669711
Review Time - Family Adventure
Stanhill has got to be an time fave, just because it's so local to us. We visit Stanhill farm several times a year as we try to buy our fresh produce from there. We particularly love their strawberries and love making our special homemade jam, which goes down well with home made scones and clotted cream. (Yum)
Maynard Farm - https://www.maynardsfruit.co.uk/our-story/amenities/
Maynards farm is a family ran business since 1963.The farm is based in East Sussex.
Fruits:
Strawberries, blackcurrants and plums and so much more.
Facilities:
* Toilets
* Parking
* No changing facilities
Address:
Maynards Farm,
Windmill Hill Cross Lane,
Ticehurst, TN5 7HQ
United Kingdom
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday 10.00 – 17:00
Saturday to Sunday 10:30 – 17:00
Out of season please call before visiting.
Review Time - Family Adventure
Maynards Fruit farm is located midway between Tunbridge Wells in Kent and Hastings on the East Sussex coast, so it's a perfect day out for the whole family, you could start of with a pick your own and end the day by heading down to the beach with the whole family. We love this fruit farm but we wouldn't make it an annual family visit as we try to visit different beaches during the year with a similar set up. We would however definitely go back again to pick fruits their at some point soon!
Crockford Bridge Farm - https://www.crockfordbridgefarm.co.uk/plan-your-visit
Crockford Bridge farm sits on an average of 8o acres of land. The farm is one of the oldest farms and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book!
Opening Times:
Monday - Thursday 10:00 - 17:30
Friday - Saturday 10:00 - 18:00
Sunday 10:00 - 17:00
Food Store:
Monday - CLOSED
Tuesday - Thursday 10:00 - 17:30
Friday - Saturday 10:00 - 18:00
Sunday - 10:00 - 16:30
Review time: Family Adventure
Crockford bridge is only a 45 minute drive from central London, so a brilliant day out to the city!
We try to visit Crockford bridge is a highlight of our annual family adventure as they have several fun events throughout the year, from pumpkins patches, to fire works night, woodland interactive theatre performances and the list is kind of endless. The kids and I absolutely love it here and it's always worth a visit.
Which farm have you visited or are most likely to visit?
Happy picking your own!