2024 Hampshire Blackberry U-Pick Farms and Orchards

Blackberry U-Pick Orchards in Hampshire in 2024, by county

Below are the PYO orchards and farms for blackberries and other brambles that we know of in this area. Not all areas have blackberries and other brambles orchards or farms that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

Hampshire

• Bourne Valley PYO - strawberries, Raspberries, gooseberries, black, red and white currants and broad beans, rhubarb
  Egbury Rd, St Mary, Bourne SP11 6DQ. Phone: 01264 738888. Email: hello@bournevalleypyo.co.uk. Open: Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8.30am to 5pm. Directions: Main road between Whitchurch and St Mary Bourne. Approximately 3 miles from the A34 Whitchurch and A303 Andover. Containers available. Picnic and play area. Toilets. Cafe and Farm Shop. Farm Animals. The farm shop has strawberries, Raspberries, gooseberries, black, red and white currants, new potatoes, broad beans, carrots, cabbage, calabrese, courgettes, onions. In the autumn - sweetcorn and pumpkins. You can taste the difference! We carefully choose out fruit and vegtable varieties for flavour - You can taste the difference. Because you pick it , you get 100% freshness with 0% air miles or packaging, therefore being healthy for you and your family and the environment.
  If you don’t want to pick your own we have a farm shop open from May until October with ready picked fruit and vegetables as well as locally produced guernsey cream, home made jam and ice creams. See us at local farmers markets as well. (UPDATED: 02 April 2016, JBS) (UPDATED: July 15, 2015, JBS)
• Cranborne Fruit Farm - I haven't yet found out what they have; write to me, if you know!
  Daggons Road, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 3DN. Phone: 01425 655003.
• Durleighmarsh Farm Shop - beetroot, blackberries, blueberries, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, corn (sweet), courgettes, currants (red and black), flowers, gooseberries, green beans, Loganberries, other berries, plums, pumpkins, raspberries (red), rhubarb, summer squash, winter squash, strawberries, Tayberries, other vegetables, Fresh eggs, U-pick and already picked, school tours
  Durleighmarsh Farm, Petersfield, GU31 5AX. Phone: 01730 821626. Email: jackie@durleighmarshfarmshop.co.uk. Open: June to October 9am to 5:30 every day (9am to 7pm June July and August). Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. Directions: Just 5 minutes from Petersfield on the A272 Midhurst Road. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard. Click here for our Facebook page. Durleighmarsh Farm offers a huge range of top quality pick-your-own fruit and vegetable crops throughout the season. As well as the customary PYO strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries, you’ll find other delicious fruits like blueberries, sunberries, tayberries and plums..We also have mouth-wateringly fresh vegetables such as sweetcorn, calabrese, beans and courgettes. You can also pick-your-own flowers, which is particularly popular with children, and our PYO herb garden will help to make your visit complete. Durleighmarsh Farm with its family-run Farm Shop and Pick-Your-Own offers a huge range of top quality fruit and vegetables throughout the season. The Pick-Your-Own is open from late May until October and the Farm Shop is open all year round. Durleighmarsh Farm Shop also attends Farmers Markets in season between May and October at Petersfield, Alton, Chichester, Southsea, Guildford, Winchester, Midhurst and Petworth. Please check our website for details. Strawberries, Gooseberries, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants, Tayberries, Sunberries Raspberries, Blueberries, Plums and Damsons. Also Flowers and Herbs! Vegetables: Rhubarb, (Asparagus), Broad Beans, Calabrese, Carrots, Mange tout/Peas, Spinach, Courgettes & Marrows, Runner Beans, Sweetcorn, Squash & Pumpkins. (UPDATED: June 29, 2020)
• Goodall's Strawberry Farm - asparagus, blueberries, broad beans, cherries, currants (red and black), flowers, gooseberries, lavender, melons, other berries, plums, potatoes, raspberries (red), rhubarb, strawberries, Fresh eggs, gift shop, mini-golf
  South Baddesley Rd, Lymington, Hampshire, UK, SO41 5SH. Phone: 07967 344008. Email: info@goodallsstrawberries.co.uk. Open: The season starts on 1st May to end of August. Click here for current open hours, days and dates. Directions: From Lymington head East towards the Isle of Wight ferry terminal, the farm is 100 meters on the left. Payment: Cash, and cheques. Click here for our Facebook page. (UPDATED: 02 April 2016, JBS) (ADDED: March 26, 2015)
• Steve Harris PYO - Strawberries, Raspberries, broadbeans,
  Triangle Lane, Titchfield, Fareham, Hampshire PO14 4HB. Phone: 01329-843-377. Open: early June to late July, daily 9:30m till 5:00pm, weather permitting. When choosing the varieties of fruit we are going to grow we try to pick those that in our opinion have great flavour. Whilst flavour is obviously very personal we believe we can offer fruit that is consistently sweet and tasty. AKA, Meon Bye Farm. (UPDATED: 02 April 2016, JBS) (UPDATED: July 10, 2015, JBS)
• Pickwell Farm - Strawberries, Raspberries, Rhubarb, broad beans, peas, gooseberries, sweetcorn, red currants, black currants, pumpkins, sweet corn
  Grange Road Old, Netley Bursledon, Southampton. Phone: 023 8040 4616. Directions: Off Portsmouth Road, 1 mile E Woolston. The farm shop has a full greengrocery, orchard fruits, soft fruits, fresh vegetables, preserves, dairy produce. Bedding plants and nursery. Hanging baskets. The Pick and Pay fields are open from 9am until 4.30pm 7 days a week. Please note that you will be crossing fields on a working farm, if it has been raining it will be muddy, we recommend sensible footwear should be worn at all times. All availability times are approximate & subject to change! Click here for our Facebook page. (UPDATED: 02 April 2016, JBS) (UPDATED: July 10, 2015, JBS)
• West Green Fruits - blackberries, boysenberries, tummelberries, broad beans, courgettes, currants (red and black), flowers, gooseberries, green beans, Loganberries, other berries, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red),rhubarb, strawberries, Tayberries, U-pick and already picked, picnic area (bring your own food)
  West Green Road,, Hartley Wintney, RG27 8LP. Phone: 01252 845772. Email: info@westgreenfruits.com. Open: June 1 pm to late September - please check website / call for information Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm, Monday Closed. Directions: 1/4 of a mile from the Victoria Hall, Hartley Wintney. Click here for a map and directions. Halloween weekend - check website. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard. We also sell local Jams, Honey and Free Range Eggs and a selection of summer vegetables, including home grown new potatoes and local asparagus and watercress when in season. We can take orders for your party, including outside our normal season. We also have a flower garden developing alongside our Pick Your Own fields, so visit our website and see what's going on. We have all kinds of berries to pick: Raspberries, Strawberries, Gooseberries, Tayberries, Loganberries, boysenberries, blackberries, tummelberries. (UPDATED: 02 April 2016, JBS) (UPDATED: March 28, 2014)

Isle of Wight

• Does anyone know of any PYO's on the Isle of Wight? Write to me: Feedback

Brambleberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

If you are getting ready to pick some brambles, either at a farm or along the roadside, you might want some useful information first! Brambles are both wild and domestic blackberries as well as similar sprawling berries, which typically includes the various hybrids like Loganberries, Tayberries, Boysenberries, and raspberries. Brambles typically peak during July, but it can range from early June through October, especially since new everbearing varieties like the American PrimeArk blackberries have been commercialized.

Varieties of Brambleberries, Blackberries, Raspberries and Hybrids

There almost countless variants of brambles. See this page for detailed descriptions of many bramble varieties found at British farms and orchards.

 

Before you leave to go to the farm:

1. Always call before you go to the farm - And when they are in season, a large turnout can pick a field clean before noon, so CALL first!
2. Leave early. On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by NOON!
    
3. Most growers furnish picking containers designed for Blackberries, but they may charge you for them; be sure to call before you go to see if you need to bring containers.
   If you use your own containers, remember that heaping Blackberries more than 5 inches deep will bruise the lower berries. Plastic dishpans, metal oven pans with 3 inch tall sides and large pots make good containers. I like the plastic storage containers.
4. Bring something to drink and a few snacks; you'd be surprised how you can work up a thirst and appetite! And don't forget hats and sunscreen for the sun. Bugs usually aren't a problem, but some deet might be good to bring along if it has been rainy.

Tips on How to Pick Bramble berries

1. There are two types of brambles to know about: thorny and thornless! Obviously, the thornless are easier to pick, but some people claim the thorny varieties are sweeter. With the thorny plants, you want to reach into the plant in the gaps, so you don't need to touch anything but the berry you're after, avoiding the thorns.
2. A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump, full feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug. If the berry is red or purple, it's not ripe yet.
3. Repeat these operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries. Unlike strawberries, blackberries are usually pretty tough, I dump mine into the bucket. Repeat the picking process with both hands.
4. Don't overfill your containers or try to pack the berries down.

General Picking Tips

Whether you pick brambles or blackberries from your garden or at a Pick-Your-Own farm, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Pick only the berries that are fully black, or a purple. Of course, there are a few varieties that are yellow orange or red when ripe, too. Typically, the should feel firm and plump and readily separate from the plant with a gentle tug. .
2.  Reach in between the stems to grab for hidden berries ready for harvest. Bend down and look up into the plant and you will find loads of berries that other people missed!
3. Avoid placing the picked berries in the sunlight any longer than necessary. It is better to put them in the shade of a tree or shed than in the car trunk or on the car seat. Cool them as soon as possible after picking. Blackberries may be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week, depending upon the initial quality of the berry. After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel.

When you get home

1. DON'T wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them. Washing makes them more prone to spoiling.
2. Pour them out into shallow pans and remove any mushed, soft or rotting berries
3. Put a couple of days supply into the fridge, wash off the others, drain them and freeze them up! (Unless you're going to make jam right away) Blackberries are less perishable than blueberries or strawberries, but refrigerate them as soon as possible after picking. Temperatures between 34 F and 38 F are best, but, be careful not to freeze the blackberries (while they are in the fridge)!
4. Even under ideal conditions blackberries will only keep for a week in a refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible after purchase

Blackberry Recipes, Freezing and Jam directions

1. How to make Blackberry jam - It is VERY easy - especially with our free Blackberry jam directions - very easy!
2. How to make Blackberry jelly
3. How to freeze berries
4. Blackberry syrup, make and can it!
5. Seedless blackberry pie!
6. Blackberry Festivals: Where, When and More to Find an Blackberry Festival Near You this year:

Blackberry Facts and Tips

• Black Raspberries, also known as "black caps" are a very healthy food; packed with anthocyanins!
• The USDA says 1 cup (228 ml) of blackberries has about 62 calories.
• 1 cup of blackberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
• Select plump, firm, fully blackberries. Unripe berries will not ripen once picked.
• Ohio State University's Article Regarding Their Prevention of Cancer
• Oregon Berry Black Raspberry Brochure
• Blackberry tea was said to be a cure for dysentery during the Civil War. During outbreaks of dysentery, temporary truces were declared to allow both Union and Confederate soldiers to "go blackberrying" to forgage for blackberries to ward off the disease.
• Blackberries were enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, who believed them to be a cure for diseases of the mouth and throat, as well as a preventative against many ailments, including gout.
• The blackberry leaf was also used as an early hair dye, having been recommended by Culpeper, the English herbalist, to be boiled in a lye solution in order to "maketh the hair black".
• Guide to blackberry varieties
• Researchers have known for quite some time that berries contain antioxidants which help to fight cancer causing free radicals. A study at the University of Ohio has found that blackberries are the most potent cancer fighting berries of them all, by nearly 40 percent!
• U-pick Blackberry farms typically sell berries by the pound. A quart equals 1 and 1/2 pounds of fresh berries.
• Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as Blackberries quickly mold when left at room temperature, and only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.
• You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away - just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible. Those vacuum food sealers REALLY do a good job of this! The berries will keep for many months frozen without air.
• Want to go to a blackberry festival? See this page for a list!