Everything you need to know about strawberry picking at Brocksbushes Farm in Northumberland this summer.
Fruit picking at Brocksbushes
Brocksbushes Farm is a working farm, shop and tea room located close to Corbridge, and it offers a variety of pick your own events throughout the year, from luscious berries in the summer to spooktacular pumpkins in the autumn.
Its fruit picking season is currently in full swing, and I headed along in late June for my very first haul of juicy strawbs – the perfect way to spend a few hours in the sunshine (if you get lucky with the British weather!).
Pre-booking and arrival
You need to pre-book your time slot online and pay £2 per person up front. Children under three go free.
I recommend signing up to the farm’s newsletter, as that’s the best way to find out about new slots week by week as the fruit ripens throughout the season.
You can arrive anytime within an hour of your chosen time slot and stay for as long as you like.
Parking is free, and to access the fruit fields you need to walk through the farm shop and exit through the rear door, where you’ll see a small hut outside.
Once you’ve shown your booking confirmation to the person in the hut, you’ll then be given a printed out map, and told which fields are open and have the most fruit available on that particular day.
Next, you can collect your dinky basket and stroll up into the fields to start your strawberry picking adventure!
About the strawberry picking and pricing
Brocksbushes has 120,000 strawberry plants this year, grown at both ground level and on tabletops.
The ground level plants are perfect for little ones, while the tabletops are ideal for people with accessibility needs or who prefer to pick the fruit from waist height.
It’s worth mentioning that the ground can be uneven in parts, although most of the paths are grassy or laid with straw.
The strawberries are super easy to pick, you just need to gently pull at the stalk, but ensure you keep the calix (the green bit!) intact.
I saw lots of children picking fruit on the day, and they all seemed like pros!
You can pick as little or as much as you like, and you pay for the fruit at the end of your visit.
The price is based on the weight of your basket and mine (pictured below) came in at just under £9, which was great value considering the quantity of strawberries we picked.
Photo opportunities and prizes
As usual, there are various photo opportunities dotted around the fields too, including a giant strawberry and a lookout tower!
Every day, the farm also hides a golden ticket in one of its fields – a picnic hamper was up for grabs on our visit.
Tasting the difference
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit. It was good fun seeking out the brightest and plumpest strawberries!
But more importantly, when I got home and finally ate them, the strawberries tasted so succulent and were bursting in flavour – so much nicer than the ones I usually buy from the supermarket.
And it’s not just strawberries you can pick; the farm also grows raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, plums, and gooseberries, which are in season at different times between June to September.
To find out more about strawberry picking and other fruits at Brocksbushes Farm, visit www.brocksbushes.co.uk.
