Top Pick Your Own (PYO) Farms in the UK

From Earth to Basket: The Renaissance of PYO

There is something fundamentally corrective about standing in a field with a punnet in your hand and stained fingers. In an era where children can navigate a tablet before they can identify a broad bean, pick-your-own farms offer something no app can replicate: the weight of a sun-warmed strawberry, the satisfying snap of a runner bean from its vine, and the realisation that food is seasonal, finite, and worth a small effort. The PYO sector has grown significantly since 2020, driven by families seeking outdoor, screen-free experiences with tangible rewards.

What distinguishes the best PYO operations from simple fruit fields is the completeness of the experience. The farms featured here have invested in visitor infrastructure, educational signage, and complementary offerings that transform a picking trip into a full day out. Farm shops stocked with produce from the same fields, cafes serving what was harvested that morning, and seasonal events that bring families back year after year.

The economics of PYO have also evolved. Labour costs for fruit picking have risen sharply, making customer-harvested produce increasingly attractive to growers. The result is a genuine alignment of interests: farms reduce their labour burden while visitors gain access to fresher produce at competitive prices, picked at the precise moment of ripeness rather than days before.

Your Seasonal Picking Calendar

Timing is everything with PYO. English gooseberries, for instance, have a picking window of roughly three weeks in late June and early July. Asparagus season traditionally runs from St George's Day (23 April) to the summer solstice. Strawberries peak from mid-June through July, while autumn brings pumpkins, apples, and late-season raspberries. The single most useful thing you can do before visiting any PYO farm is check their crop availability page, most update weekly, and book in advance where required.

A practical tip: bring your own containers for transport (most farms weigh crops in their own punnets at the exit), and visit on weekday mornings for the best selection and shortest queues. The early bird, in the most literal sense, gets the ripest fruit.