A FRUIT ENTHUSIAST'S DIARY
4. PICK YOUR OWN
ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES IN EXMOOR
Colin’s been crazy about fruit for years but it wasn’t until 2022 that he started documenting his fruity adventures.
August 2022
A spontaneous activity after spotting a roadside sign advertising ‘PYO Blueberries in a rural setting with spectacular views’ on a weekend trip to Lynton in Devon.
Naturally, I could not resist following the signs, this sounded right up my street. (Yes, even though blueberries aren’t an exotic fruit.)
Fruit - Organic blueberries, variety unknown.
Location - Above the beautiful village of Exford on beautiful Exmoor. United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Bought from - Pick your own at www.exmoorblueberries.com
Exmoor Blueberries
Combe Lane
Exford, Somerset
TA24 7QQ
07583 187558
Pick your own season usually runs from start of August to end of September.
Cost - £9.50 per kg (punnets 15p)
Grown - United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Description - After stumbling upon the picturesque village of Porlock we continued with our journey to Lynton and proceeded to ascend quite possibly the steepest road I have ever experienced. First gear all the way!
If we return to this beautiful spot, next time I’ll definitely opt for the Porlock scenic toll road at a cost of £3.00 for a car. It was built to offer a more comfortable drive out of Porlock by avoiding the infamously steep Porlock Hill. It also offers unrivalled views of the Somerset coast.
Fortunately, though, this time I did opt for Porlock Hill, otherwise we would have never known the PYO Blueberries existed.
I must say this fruity activity was quite the adventure. From first encountering the sign, a 6 mile drive to Exford followed, navigating narrow roads winding through the moorland, passing sheep and cows at the roadside and dodging a charging wild horse!
I thought arrival at Exford would signal the end of treacherous driving terrain, however, another slow ascent awaited us, a mile-long narrow track before we finally arrived at the farm.
Disclaimer: Be prepared for a bumpy ride and keep your fingers crossed that no one comes the other way otherwise one of you has a lot of reversing to do, there are few places to pass!
On arrival at the farm you are greeted with a grassy area to park on the left and on the right a reception 'hut' with punnets if you forget your containers, and an honesty box to pay in.
It appears most of the time the PYO is unmanned, however, we did meet the Farmer’s friend at the end and had a chat.
He explained they’ve tried in the past to supply the blueberries commercially on a large scale but unfortunately have not been able to make it profitable so the vast majority are harvested through pick your own and some sold to local businesses. The rest drop and fertilise the land.
The process is simple. Collect a compostable punnet, if you forgot your own, read the various notices in the hut including the map indicating where you can pick.
Wander into the fields and enjoy picking delicious blueberries whilst taking in the peaceful natural surroundings and amazing views.
I recommend the north gully, where we found some of the biggest, sweetest and most juicy blueberries although this will likely change as the season progresses.
Remember to pack a jumper and trousers, the blueberry fields are wild!
Storage
Pop the blueberries in the fridge and enjoy within a week.
Rating - 9/10
The most delicious, sweet organic blueberries and an exciting fruity adventure with perfect weather.
All that can top this would be pick your own exotic fruit in the Tropics!
Available from My Exotic Fruit?
Sadly not, but we need to reach out to Simon from the farm, I think we should strike a deal!
Do we sell blueberry seeds and seedlings?
Seeds no, seedlings hopefully. We will try to germinate some of the seeds from the blueberries I picked.
Email info@myexoticfruit.com if you're interested and we'll let you know when they're added to our range.
Do you have something interesting to tell us about blueberries or do you have a pick your own fruit farm that you’d like to invite Colin to visit
or review?
We'd love to hear from you!
Email us on
blog@myexoticfruit.com and, with your permission, we'll add your information to our website or Colin will write a blog article about your fruit/service.
Other fruity matters
I enjoyed some Italian cactus fig and Chinese jujube with lunch.
I bought a book, Chocolat: the Art of the Chocolatier: Les Marquis De Laduree from St Margaret’s Hospice Care charity shop in Williton. My knowledge on the history of the cacao fruit and chocolate will certainly be bolstered after this read.
I also nabbed three new additions for the tropical garden at our warehouse from Wibble Farm Nurseries. Passiflora caerulea, we already have a few of these plants but this particular specimen was loaded with fruits so I couldn’t resist. Also fig ‘rouge de Bordeaux’ and fig carica ‘goutte d Or’ both of which I look forward to getting in the ground and enjoying next summer’s harvest.
Stayed at Valley of Rocks Hotel, Lynton. This grand, Grade II listed building sits on a clifftop location in Lynton. It offers fantastic views over the Lynmouth bay below. I wrote most of this blog whilst enjoying the views of the sea from the hotel.
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