Throwback to August fruit picking day out

Hey everyone,

I thought today I would share with you something I got up to in August which I kept meaning to post on my blog. I had a really lovely day out with two friends at the fruit picking farm. We drove for ages to get to it but it was so worth it and was a lovely day out.

We weren't quite sure what to expect from the farm and called ahead to check it was going to be open to be greeted by possibly the best answer phone recording I have ever heard! The man who owns the farm each day records what produce there is, what fruits are particularly delicious and ready for picking and even the weather...we called twice just so we could hear it again!

On arrival we realised that it was not only a fruit picking farm but also had it's own farm shop with fresh produce not only from the farm but also from other local sellers so had local honey, vegetables and fruit, eggs and even plants. How fantastic if you had this on your doorstep.

The farm is positioned quite near the main road and near a big Asda supermarket so I just hope that lots of the locals come here to support the local businesses and to get their fresh fruit and veg and local produce as well.  It certainly seemed quite busy there.

As well as the farm shop the farm also has it's own tearooms and I was really glad to see that they also support local makers there and had a selection of craft products for sale. Hooray for amazing local businesses supporting other local makers, growers and crafters!

Of course it would have been rude to have gone to the tearooms to have a look around without stopping for a cup of tea and after the long drive we all thought we deserved one! The tea room was clearly popular with the locals and was a good start to the day. We were feeling really excited to start fruit picking and nearly finished our teas when it started raining a lot so unfortunately (!!) we also had to stay and have some cake while we waiting for the rain to stop! Oh what a shame...!

We tried to decide what to pick before we entered the fields but they all sounded amazing so in the end we just wandered around looking at the different fruit before deciding what looked yummiest!

The farm was actually much bigger than we thought and you can even get a tractor ride around the farm which was perfect for visitors who had children. It stops at different points around the farm next to the different fruit so you can just jump off at whichever fruit you would like to pick.

The farm also had signs letting you know which fruit were ready to pick and which weren't.

We picked lots of plums as they looked particularly delicious!

 Even though the farm was by the main road, you did feel like you were right in the countryside and it was really relaxing walking around. The rain managed to stay off after we left the tea rooms (although big grey colours stayed overhead!)

I really liked the signs at the farm so spent more time photographing those than the actual fruit (sorry guys!). Aren't they lovely though?!

As well as plums we also picked raspberries and then when we got home made a raspberry and plum pie (it was super delicious!). We held a 'perfect raspberry' competition between us to find the most delicious, juicy and biggest raspberry. This caused much debate but I am pretty sure I won!!

Was lovely to have such fresh fruit. You can't get fresher than this and it was nice to be able to pick all the best of the fruit rather than when you buy at the supermarket and some are always too ripe or not ripe enough or a bit squishy!

It was a really lovely day out and I hope to go back again soon.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this

The Dorothy Days X

Things I am loving this week...

Well.....last week really but I am still loving them this week too....!

Drinking ginger beer in a beautiful beer garden in Ditchling. The sunshine was beautiful, the beer garden was amazing and the ginger beer delicious! The packaging of the ginger beer was so cute too it made me smile. On the inside of the bottle (you can just about see) when you drink it it reveals a little picture of ginger!

Spring flowers - This is a photograph from my neighbour's garden. The garden is only small but packed full of beautiful spring flowers and it smells amazing! The garden is up from street level so is quite high up when you walk past which means you can smell it even more. It makes me smile every time I walk that way with Rufus.

Rufus! - This rather naughty ball of fluff returned home after nearly 3 weeks away at residential dog camp! Even though he looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth he is a rescue dog with some quite severe behavioural problems. It was lovely to see how far he has come and we were able to go down to the beach and let him play, dig and meet other doggy friends! I love him even when he is naughty but love him just that little bit extra during moments like this!

Easter rabbits! - Apparently you are never too old to receive chocolate bunnies through the post! These arrived just after Easter so was even more of a lovely surprise as I thought I didn't have any Easter treats and then these landed on my doorstep! 

Roast Dinner - A lovely Easter Sunday roast dinner with new friends. What a treat! The roast was amazing and I had my first ever Ham cooked in Coca Cola.....yep....thats right.....ham cooked in coke! It is DELICIOUS! Check out the recipe for ham cooked in cola with maple and mustard glaze here

The Dorothy Days Xx

5 things I love about the countryside....

Hi everyone,

I thought I would do another 5 things blog post so this week. I am lucky enough to live in the beautiful English countryside in a really rural location so this week I am doing 5 things I love about the countryside.

1) You can see the stars and they shine really brightly as everything else is dark around and there isn't so much light pollution. Where I live there are no street lights and the nearest town is about 10 miles away so on a clear night the sky looks incredible.

2) Not having shops or entertainment on your doorstep means you have to find your own entertainment which results in a lot of fun and enjoying the landscape around you. I love going down to the beach or going on a walk through the woods with friends. Means there are no distractions and it is perfect for catching up.

3) Local produce! In the garden we have lovely apples and also other types of fruit but just down the road is a farm who sell the most wonderful local produce in one of their outbuildings. They sell local meat, honey, biscuits, fruit and vegetables, amazing jams etc. There is also a lady who has her own chickens and sells their eggs out the front of her house. The eggs are about as free range as you can get!

4) Community spirit. It is wonderful to see how much of a community there is and how willing they are to help each other out. When our lawnmower broke down and the grass in the garden was getting rather long we had a knock on the door and a neighbour offered to cut the grass for us.

5) Living in such a beautiful area makes me smile nearly every day. It is so quiet and peaceful here and although I love to visit the city and make regular trips to London, it is wonderful to return to the countryside. I can't wait for the leaves on the trees to start changing colour and for us to have the log burner in the evenings.

What do you love most about where you live?

The Dorothy Days