It’s that time of year already! When the first fruit starts to ripen and the Sussex PYO farms get ready to welcome visitors once more. PYO fruit is a great way to keep your food miles down and support local and I’m sure my childhood summers spent picking raspberries are responsible for my great love of fruit. So grab your cartons and your recipe books and get ready for a summer of picking.
Our pick of West Sussex Pick Your Own farms
For those in the west of Sussex, here are our favourite four PYO farms.
New House Farm, nr Horsham
On Old Crawley Road, just outside Horsham, this family-owned farm is fabulous for strawberry picking. Check their website for strawberry picking dates. They also have a good farm shop and tea room.
Roundstone Farm, nr Worthing
Offering a “guarantee that everything we sell at Roundstone ‘Pick Your Own’ Farm is 100% natural”, here you’ll find gooseberries, raspberries, plums, blackberries, redcurrants, black currants, rhubarb, pumpkins squash, marrows, courgettes and more. They have already opened their gates for PYO strawberries, rhubarb and onions. Roundstone Farm.
Runcton Farm, nr Chichester
In between Chichester and Pagham, Runcton Farm also includes a well-stocked farm shop and a rather lovely café. There is plenty of PYO at this farm with a choice of rhubarb, strawberries, loganberries, blackberries, runner beans, broad beans, French beans, plums and greengages. Their website was down when we last checked but they are on Facebook and Instagram, so it’s worth checking there for opening times.
Paternosters Farm, nr Haywards Heath
Just outside Warninglid (and not far from Haywards Heath, this was the Sussex Pick Your Own farm of my childhood and it’s wonderful that all these years on, they’re still going. They have PYO raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, and redcurrants ready approx late June through to the end of July. Then they have plums and damsons from mid August through to September, and apples from the end of September. Find details here: PYO at Paternosters
Our pick of East Sussex Pick Your Own farms
For those in East Sussex, try these four PYO farms.
Tibbs Farm, near Rye
I stumbled upon Tibbs Farm during the course of my Rye travels earlier this year. They have a café with fabulous views and even more fabulous cake so my visit felt like destiny but it was also well in advance of the picking season. If you head this way now, they have gooseberries, apricots, strawberries (when in season), raspberries, blackcurrants, plums, blackberries as well as tayberries, loganberries, tummelberries (no, me neither) and boysenberries (nope, but I want to find out). Opening details here: Tibbs Farm PYO
Maynards Farm, nr Ticehurst
Having been to school in nearby Wadhurst, this is another farm of my youth! I haven’t been in a while but they appear to have every fruit you could desire, including blackcurrants, redcurrants, plums, Morello cherries, blackberries and rhubarb. Details of their opening season can be found here: Maynards Farm
Oast Farm, nr Uckfield
I haven’t visited Oast Farm (yet or that I can remember) but rumour has it they have a great café and farm shop. Expect lots of their own produce in the shop. They also engage in the ancient tradition of wassailing (a singing and dance ritual to awaken the apple trees and to scare away evil spirits) in January so they are definitely on my “must visit” list. They have some limited PYO plums, redcurrants, cherries and blackberries but you are advised to check first.
Sharnfold Farm, nr Eastbourne
There’s lots going on here (including a farm trail) so it’s a good one for families. They usually offer PYO strawberries, blackberries, rhubarb and redcurrants. Details here: Sharnfield Farm
If you enjoyed this article about Pick Your Own farms in Sussex, you may also like:
