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Since this is our last summer in England, I have decided to make a summer bucket list and dive right into checking things off of our list. One of the first things on that list is to take Mei berry picking since she enjoys picking tomatoes and beans in our own garden so much, I was eager to see her face when she saw row after row of berries that she could pick to her delight!

I’m so glad that we took her because she had a blast!

The husband unit was a bit resistant to it until we arrived because he grew up on a farm and going to a “you-pick-berry-farm” seems like a very “city” activity to do. Going to a farm to pick berries, rather than walking into a store and just buying them. But with a bit of prodding, he agreed to go with us.

He had just as much fun as Mei!

Possibly, even more!

After we filled our first basket full of raspberries, he inquired why we had only grabbed three baskets to fill. Our plan was to fill one with raspberries, one with strawberries and one with currants. Obviously, he was really enjoying carrying Mei around on his shoulders and showing her how to locate and pick each berry.

We were there for the last of the strawberries and only mostly filled that basket since they had green tips and we werent sure they would ripen any more than that. But we more than filled both our bellies AND our basket with raspberries.

After tasting what we presumed was a “ripe” red currant- we found it wickedly tart and decided to fill that basket with even more raspberries instead of the currants. Although we passed by the strawberries again and let Mei really get into picking the strawberries. That required a bit of strength on her part and she had to pull on each berry with so much force that once she finally freed it from the bush, she fell on her bottom!

She would proudly grasp her fresh-picked berry, walk a couple of feet and eagerly bite into it – finishing only half of the berry before demanding another berry to be picked.

Thank goodness the raspberries were easier to pick! All that required was a bit of riding around on her daddy’s shoulders to reach or looking up the trellis under a bunch of leaves. Some of these berries were as big as quarters, juicy and oozing with bright red juice, dropping quickly into Mei’s waiting hands and the ground at the slightest provocation!

Wandering down towards where the red and black currants were planted, we passed their field full of sheep and Mei wanted to do nothing other than stand as close to the fence as she could and stare at the sheep, exclaiming all the while “WOW!!!”

the beloved sheep!

the sheep-watcher :)

Needless to say, she had a great time.

Mei saw free-range chickens walking around the picnic and children’s play area and happily chased after them while I ducked inside to their farm shop to buy up some of the fresh produce that they also grew on their farm and local products that were made with the eggs from their farm and turned into pastas, cheeses, oils, etc.

These are the types of shops that I have a hard time showing any real restraint – and it was a good thing the husband unit was happy to let me buy anything that caught my eye! We walked away with some primo black truffle oil, fresh broad beans (to experiment with, since we had never eaten them before) and a whole lot of fresh picked berries that we weren’t quite sure what we were going to do with, but had to maroon in the trunk so that they would make it home!

This particular u-pick farm has quite a bit of produce to be picked throughout the year and we have plans to return in the fall to pick other things. But what about Baby Emily?? She enjoyed the sun and berry picking too, safely under the cover of a blanket away from the sun, cradled in our arms. This was certainly a great day out!

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