Where to pick summer berries

Enjoy fruit picking this summer in South Yorkshire

Now that the hot season is well and truly upon us, fruit picking is a great and relaxing way to coax the kids outdoors to enjoy the weekend sunshine.

It’s also a great way to get your little – and no so little – ones indulging in some healthy eating, trying different fruits, and learning where their food comes from, all the while supporting local farmers.

Luckily there are some terrific places, both near and far, for those who fancy a day out.

Birchin Lee Nurseries has a long history of fruit picking in the city. The Holmesfield Road farm, in Dronfield, was taken over by the Pearson family in the 1930s, but it was in the hot summer of 1976, when all the strawberries were ripening faster than staff could pick them, that the Pearson’s decided to open the fields of strawberries to the public for Pick Your Own – and have been doing so ever since.

The family’s ‘pick your own’ season is now legendary in Sheffield, offering visitors the chance to pick their own strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, rhubarb, broad beans, peas, runner beans, french beans, and red and white currants. Their pick-your-own produce calendar has sessions running from June to November.

McCallums Fruit Farm, on Bank End Road in Doncaster, stretches over 15 acres with orchards and more than 400 tresses and fruit grown in the fields. Spend a fun and relaxing afternoon getting your hands dirty this summer, and enjoy savouring the flavours of fruit fresh from the field that you’ve collected yourself. The farm’s fruit fields are generally open from June to August, depending upon the weather, with ‘pick your own’ open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

Eastfield Farm Soft Fruit, on Doncaster Road, Tickhill, is a ‘pick your own’ soft fruit farm, with a tearoom on-site offering drinks and home-made cakes. Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, white currants, blackberries, and a wide range of vegetables are available to pick.

Bentley Grange Farm, Woodhouse Lane, Huddersfield, has strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries available to pick over the summer months. During peak season, they also sell Longley Farm cream, and locally produced ice cream and honey, to give the picked fruits an extra dollop of delight.