Berry Picking South of London

Berries are perhaps some of my favorite fruits. Popping a delicious, succulent blackberry or strawberry in my mouth is not only a treat, but it brings back childhood memories of wandering along the edge of the woods in East Texas, picking berries by the bucket-full, and enjoying them with sugar and milk later that night.

A few years back, my friend Les and I were visiting some friends in London. Being as Les is a farmer by trade (shameless plug...Richardson’s Farms in Maryland) we often find ourselves checking out farmer’s markets or other rural locales, so on this particular trip we ended up at a pick your own berry farm.

The thing that makes this of interest is that this particular farm grew Tayberries–Something I’d never heard of before. Turns out the Tayberry is a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, and the purplish-red fruit is about twice the size of either parent.

It also turns out that this little guy is packed with flavor, rich tangy flavor that is reminiscent of both parent fruits. It was perhaps not as sweet as a fully ripe blackberry, but not as tart as the raspberry. All in all it was a great little discovery, and I thought I’d share a few pictures of the experience.

Les and Natasha picking away.

The obligatory pint at the pub after a hard day of berry picking.


Freshly Picked Tayberries, ready to eat.

The tayberries went well with a nice wine and cheese course before dinner. 

I also saw these little guys at Central Market recently (the first time other than the berry farm that I’d come across them) but at the exorbitant prices they were charging, I would almost rather fly back to England to get some. But, if you come across some, check ‘em out.

Until next time,

I hope you're berry happy,

Chris