Having read an article based on things to do in summer with the kids, I thought id awaken my inner child and visit Hendrewennol. Situated just off from Culverhouse cross. A few little lanes later which at one point we thought we had taken a very wrong turning. Eventually we arrived and were directed into parking spaces in the overflow carpark. This gave us a very clear idea that they were already busy.
Firstly I would advise in wearing sensible shoes. Although it was dry some areas of the grounds are pretty muddy so opt for wellies or good gripping trainers. We headed down the path towards the stall where we paid our £2 entry to get buckets so we could go pick our fruit. My friend Katie and I had gone but wish we had brought a kid with us as it seemed very family orientated. So before we went on our mission of fruit picking we grabbed a bite to eat in the café which was very busy. They had a selection of handmade sandwiches and cakes to entice anyone’s appetite. We had some chocolate brownies and ham sandwiches which filled the spot lovely.
The time soon came to shift ourselves and get fruit picking! There was such a huge range of fruit on offer to pick with the fields being split into two sides. So we headed over to the one side and started picking the raspberries. There were rows and rows of towering vines, but to grab the raspberries you had to dig deep. There was also the enemy of the wasp. There perching on the best raspberries so limiting where you could grab the fruit from sometimes. We managed to fill a whole punnet with raspberries so thought it was time to sample the other fruit on offer.
Next along the line were strawberries. The bushes a lot lower down on the ground compared to the raspberries. There were a lot of people that had already beaten us too many of the good strawberries. So we had to dig deep to find the nice juicy ones, though some big they were green and not ripe. With them being so low on the ground your back does start to hurt for a bit. I then resorted to getting right in and crawling along the floor. I was on a mission to get those strawberries and did manage to get some hidden gems which looking closer. There were a few bushes off limits when we went. But this was to allow time for regrowth so that there is a constant crop to pick.
Hidden around the corner were the great juicy blackcurrants! We now were back on two feet and up with the higher bushes. The blackcurrants had to be grabbed carefully otherwise they just turned to mush in your hands. By the end of picking them it looked as if we had murdered someone with the dye on our hands.
Finally it was time for a break before we moved on to the other side of the fields. We went back to the café and treated ourselves to their homemade ice-cream. Made with a selection of fruit from the fields it tasted so creamy and was delicious! We also discovered that there is a maze for you to explore. But it seemed that it was mostly intended for children so thought that will be for when we return another time.
We then headed through a bit of forest towards the rest of the fruit. Such things as gooseberries, redcurrants and blueberries to name just a few. We choose to pick blueberries into our final punnet filling it right to the top. This one took a while to fill with them being so small and also high up on the tree. Eventually all punnets were full to the top and it was time to get them weighed in. For the whole lot it came to £22.00 which was not too bad for the quantity we had. You can have to option to not buy the fruit and hand it in for them to keep.
I will be sure to be returning in the future and pick all the fruit, maybe even getting myself in the maze. It’s a great place to take the kids as well as having an adventure with friends.
