2024 United Kingdom Blackberry U-Pick Farms and Orchards

These are the areas that have blackberry, raspberry, tayberry loganberry orchards and other brambles to pick. Click on the area closet you!

Keep in mind, not all areas of the UK have blackberries and other brambles orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Click a region in the list below or click on the map (further down the page) to locate pick-your-own farms in your area:

• England
  • northern East Anglia (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)
  • southern East Anglia (Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire)
  • East Midlands
  • West Midlands
  • Northern England (Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear)
  • Northwest England (Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside)
  • Greater London and Surrey
  • Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire
  • Hampshire
  • Kent
  • Sussex (East and West Sussex)
  • Cornwall and Devon
  • South West England (Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire)
  • Yorkshire
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

And if you want simple illustrated, instructions on making and canning (aka, bottling, preserving) many common items, like how to make jam, applesauce, apple butter, spaghetti sauce, salsa, fruit pies, freezing vegetables, putting up peaches, green beans, etc., just click here. For tips on picking click here! And if you have Christmas needs but can't get out, did you know that you can get your fresh meat online, including a lovely gourmet turkey dinner delivered to your door?

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