During these social distancing times pre-booking outdoor activities in the British weather is not always ideal. So we left it quite last minute to book for Parkside Farm. A wednesday late morning and surprisingly they had availability within the hour.
We packed in the car and drove the 35 minutes to Enfield, excited as to what fruit would be available on the day. We like to think of ourselves as a foodie family, so it is important for this Young Londoner to learn all about where food really comes from, the harvesting and cooking process.
As we arrived, there was ample parking available and we joined the socially distanced queue as we awaited our trolleys and fruit punnets. The whole ground is very large so there are no concerns with overcrowding. Ample space for the toddlers to run around, excited at the thought of finding a shy strawberry.
On the day of our visit (1st of July) there was a wide variety of fruit and veg. This included strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, beetroot, broad beans, courgettes and spinach.
The strawberry and raspberry plants are perfect height for a toddler to pick at and it means there are less chances of snails getting to the large ripe juicy berries.
We picked away and filled our punnets with the toddler doing a couple of illegal quality control tests (berries should not be eaten in the fields!).
As the space is so large the toddler got tired quite quickly but fortunately the produce trolley can come in handy and double up as a transport system.
The picnic area remains closed at the moment, as do the toilets, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was still a delightful couple of hours spent outside learning about food, picking our own seasonal goodies and having an ice cream.
A fruit voucher is £4 per person must be booked in advance via their website here. Whatever you pick will be deducted from the cost of your visit. One adult can bring two children under twelve.