Berry picking is an activity you cannot miss during summer time! It’s great for the family and kids, but also perfect as a date activity. There are various berry picking farms and today we will share about berry picking in Edinburgh.
If you have not read it, check out our 2D1N Edinburgh itinerary by a local to get an idea of what to do and where to eat!
We wanted to do a one-day trip around Edinburgh to check out the surroundings. You can visit some Highland cows if you have time or down south to Alnwick Castle. But we decided to stay close to Edinburgh and visit the local farms instead!
Why Berry Picking in Edinburgh
Berry picking is my favourite activity during summer time in Scotland. It’s educational for children and city-dwellers like myself. I have never seen raspberries and blackberries growing like that! The most was a strawberry farm in Hong Kong, that was ridiculously overpriced.
This summer, the crops are growing well and there are tons of fruits to pick! Grab your basket and let’s get picking. The freshest berries from the shrubs, it can’t get any fresher.
Trevellers Tip #1: visit the farm on a nice sunny day.
Where to Berry Pick in Edinburgh
Where to pick berries in Edinburgh is a tough question. Finally, we decided on Craigie’s Farm. It was a nice Saturday, we had the car and off we went.
Trevellers Tip #2: make sure that a week before you visit the farm, the weather is good. Aka there is sun and rain. If you visit when there is too much rain, you get sour berries. If you visit when there is too much sun, you get NO berries!
Cargie’s Farm is near the airport, so you can see planes flying past on the way in! If you are driving, you will past a wheat field with wild blackberries growing on the side. Feel free to pick them, just be wary about the thorns!
Experience
It was a wonderful experience overall! Before entering, there is a chart that shares the produce you can pick. When we were there, there were plenty of strawberries, raspberry, and blackberries to pick. The other items like apple, pumpkin, etc. were not ready to pick.
Trevellers Tip #3: Follow the chart! Don’t pick items that are not ripe. Only pick those that have ripen.
Entry Fee & Information
The entry fee to the farm is £3 per person. It becomes a £3 credit after you pay, and will be deducted from the produce you picked. The price of the price is also written on the board, with an estimate of the price of a basket of produce.
After paying the entry fee, you will be given a basket to put your produce. If you need extra, you can get extra baskets from them. They also provide a map for you to pick your fruit.
Raspberry Picking
We went straight for the raspberries and spent almost an hour there! It was the tent closest to the entrance hut.
Trevellers Tip #4: go to the furthest bush from the hut. People rarely venture so far and they pick in the shrub closest to them!
Look out for big, red and slightly soft raspberries. They are usually under the leaves, so look from the bottom up for some delicious sweet raspberries. We bought 3 baskets in the end! The blackberry bush is near the raspberry picking area, so explore a little!
Strawberry Picking
Strawberries were plentiful that week so we headed there. It is the sweetest, most delicious and juiciest strawberries we have ever eaten! When we sink our teeth into it, the juice exploded all over our mouths and onto our shirts!
Flowers and Goats
You can’t pick them, but there are giant sunflowers and other plants growing there too! And opposite the flower plantation, there are little lambs and kid (baby goat)! We fed the animals with some berries we picked and they loved it!
Details of Berry Picking in Edinburgh
Name: Cragie’s Farm
Perfect for: weekend day trip, couple date activity, family & kids
Address: Queensferry, Edinburgh EH30 9AR, UK
Getting There:
- Bus 43 from city centre to Barnbougle Gate Lodge and walk for 16 minutes
- Take A90 and exit Kirkliston road and drive to Cragie’s Farm
Opening hours: 9am – 6pm daily
Trevellers is my way to change the world. Through my stories, tips and lessons learnt, I truly hope to inspire you to get out of your comfort zone, see the world and see who you truly are. Travel is more than just taking a selfie at beautiful destinations. Travel is an adventure, where you can truly become who you are, give you the time to reflect and grow to become the person you’ve always dreamt of.
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