Strawberry Treats!

Well Saturday was a gorgeous day, so my friends and I decided to kick off the summer season with some PYO at Lathcoats Farm on Beehive Lane, Chelmsford.  You can find their website here.  What's great about this farm is that it is a walkable distance from our houses, so I took a few snaps along the way.  There is also a large car park for those who are travelling a bit further (well worth the drive!).   CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

On arrival, we could see that they have a new look farm shop - more pics to follow at the end of the blog about this super find.

Off we trotted to the stall where we could pick up a basket - you can bring your own basket if you wish.  I, however, really like to get an authentic basket, and Lathcoats' ones are cute, you have two sizes to choose from, and you can reuse it as many times as you like - so you can keep it for next time!

What's really great about this PYO site, is that the strawberries are grown off the floor, so no bending down, reaching around in mud, but in fact a height suitable for adults and kids alike!

The mission was on, filling up our baskets, whilst taking some great photos of the juicy fruits.  It brought back so many memories of being a little girl, it's such a great feeling to pick your own fruit, rather than buy it at the supermarket - plus you know they are going to taste great!

We collected a great load of strawberries, and for the first weekend of strawberry picking, there were a lot of people down there enjoying the fun.  We went back to weigh our goods, and at a very reasonable price, we were happy and off we trotted to the 'new look' farm shop - and wow - I was impressed!

In the shop there were fresh fruits, frozen fruits, frozen pastries (which I was very excited about, as I do love a pain au chocolat!) Essex honey, real local ales, home made meringues - I just couldn't help myself, they go so well with strawberries and cream - and it wouldn't be June without them!  I was walking around snapping away, and the staff were friendly and welcoming.

Now I am off to enjoy my strawberries, meringue and cream - whilst checking out a bit of Wimbledon. I am definitely going to go back soon, I want to attempt an Eton Mess with all the fresh home grown fruits and berries - a perfect summery treat!

Make sure you 'like' Lathcoats Farm on Facebook, they have updates all year round as to what they get up to, and more importantly, make sure that you get down there to experience the PYO season and sample some of the great local products they have on offer!