Flower tourism is at a record high, with a growing number of botanical tourists travelling the world to catch a glimpse of Japan’s cherry blossom or the Netherlands’ tulips. Thankfully, you don’t have to hop on a plane to join in: summer is when some of the UK’s prettiest flowers are at their best and there are flower farms sprouting up all over the country where you can pluck your own basket full of lavender or a bright bunch of dahlias. These are the pick-your-own (PYO) flower spots worth incorporating into your weekend away, and the best places to stay nearby.
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1. Hitchin Lavender, Hertfordshire
You’ll smell the purple fields of Hitchin Lavender before you see them — and what a sight they are, particularly in summer, when the 30 acres are in full bloom. These violet-coloured buds alone would be enough to merit a visit, but this popular spot — family-owned Cadwell Farm — also has a gold-hued sunflower field (from mid-August), a pumpkin patch (October), and a wildflower meadow (mid-June until late August). All of these spaces allow you to PYO (entry from £7, bag of lavender £4; hitchinlavender.com). There’s a lovely farm café in a 17th-century barn serving delicious homemade cakes. Stay nearby at the Farmhouse at Redcoats, a cosy 15th-century bolt hole with excellent food.
Details B&B doubles from £175 (farmhouseatredcoats.co.uk)
2. Blooming Green, Maidstone, Kent
Founded by cousins Jen Stuart-Smith and Bek Bibby in 2007, Blooming Green was one of the first PYO flower businesses in the UK. Flowers are grown across six acres, without chemicals, and Stuart-Smith says she has PYO regulars who declare the experience to be “better (and cheaper) than therapy”. Late spring is peak peony time, July welcomes delphiniums, and dahlias bloom from August right until the autumn. Pick-your-own sessions run every Saturday from late June to October from 1pm, with a container and flower wrapping included in the price (£25 per container, with space for up to 40 stems; bloominggreenflowers.co.uk). The 19th-century Leeds Castle is a 15-minute drive away, with cottages, lodges and castle rooms you can stay in, plus 500 acres of spectacular parkland to explore. It’s also got a collection of drawbridges, dungeons, turrets and towers ideal for living out your own Game of Thrones fantasy.
Details B&B doubles from £140 (leeds-castle.com)
3. Vale Pick Your Own, Bonvilston, Vale of Glamorgan
For the second summer in a row, this family-run farm will open its enormous, multicoloured flower meadow to pickers. Poppies, marigolds, cornflowers and cosmos can be plucked here until late August (entry £5, flower bags £8; valepickyourown.co.uk). Summer also ushers in the popular strawberry and raspberry PYO season at Vale, with punnets of sweet berries charged by the kilo (punnets from £1). In October it’s pumpkin time and pickers heading to the pumpkin fields can also order pumpkin-spiced lattes at the twee on-site café. Stay at Llanerch Vineyard Hotel, a modern wine estate where you can take leisurely strolls with views over the surrounding countryside, or book wine tastings and meals at its award-winning restaurant.
Details B&B doubles from £190 (llanerch.co.uk)
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4. Cairnie Fruit Farm, Cupar, Fife
This farm specialises in fruit — hence the name — with visitors welcome to pick punnets of strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, gooseberries and more. But it’s also a haven for sunflower fans, who can pick stems each August (75p a stem; cairniefruitfarm.co.uk). Make sure to visit the outdoor strawberry kiosk after, where you can buy cups of fresh strawberries and cream. Stay at the Ship Inn at Elie, an always-busy pub-with-rooms that was one of The Times and The Sunday Times’s best places to stay for 2024. It’s on the Fife Coastal Path, which leads walkers out along the dunes to a string of charming fishing villages such as St Monans, Anstruther and Pittenweem.
Details B&B doubles from £121 (shipinn.scot)
5. Amelia’s Flower Farm, Newton Abbot, Devon
A family-owned flower farm in Newton Abbot, south Devon, Amelia’s wins when it comes to setting: the valley is close to picturesque River Teign, which you can follow on a lovely 3.5-mile hike from the farm to the Teignmouth coast. And what the two-acre farm lacks in size, it makes up for with sheer diversity of floral produce: among the flowers grown by the owner Amelia Cooper Smith and her husband Giles are narcissi, begonias, hydrangeas, peonies and dahlias. The farm opens for PYO from May to November, seven days a week, charged at £20 a bucket (ameliasflowerfarm.co.uk). Cooper Smith also hosts various green-fingered workshops throughout the year where you can learn how to create showstopping flower arrangements (£65). The country-house hotel Orestone Manor is a ten-minute drive away, with bright rooms and views over Lyme Bay. Take advantage of its location — some of Devon’s prettiest sandy beaches are a short walk from here, including secluded Watcombe Cove, along the coast path.
Details Room-only doubles from £78 (orestonemanor.co.uk)
6. Farrington’s Farm, Farrington Gurney, Somerset
This 400-acre working farm, home to donkeys and pigs, has been run by the couple Tish and Andy Jeffery since 1989. There’s a farm shop selling homegrown produce, a café and fish and chip shop, as well as a huge park where children can play in a straw pit. In spooky season you can pick your own pumpkins, in spring it’s tulips, and summer is sunflower central. Between August and September the farm’s sunflowers fields are at their most dazzling, and visitors can pick their own (£5 for five stems; book in advance via farringtons.co.uk). There are different sunflower varieties to choose from, including firecrackers, Russian mammoths and giant sungolds. The farm is between Bristol and Bath, but we suggest making a weekend of it in historic Bath. For an all-out luxurious stay, book a room at the 250-year-old Royal Crescent Hotel, on one of the city’s best-known streets and a ten-minute stroll from the honey-stoned city centre.
Details B&B doubles from £375 (royalcrescent.co.uk)
7. The Flower Belt, Helmsley, North Yorkshire
Henry Wainwright — a 25-year-old, third-generation farmer — introduced summer PYO sessions in 2022 to this low-key flower farm, a 45-minutes’ drive north of York. They run from July until autumn, with 32 varieties of wildflower, 45,000 tulips and a vast sunflower field to pick from (sunflower stem £1, jar of wildflowers £6; theflowerbelt.co.uk). There’s also a PYO pumpkin patch in October (from £3). Dogs are welcome, and a café serves ice cream, coffee and freshly baked cakes; the real bonus here is the views over the rolling landscape of Ryedale and Helmsley. You’re a 20-minute drive from Cawthorne House, a homely B&B in Pickering with excellent food and its own sourdough school. Or head further south to the riverside city of York, a 40-minute drive — don’t miss a chance to climb up the tower at York Minster, one of the grandest gothic cathedrals in Europe.
Details B&B doubles from £110; two-night minimum stay (cawthornehouse.co.uk)
Where are your favourite pick-your-own flower farms? Let us know in the comments below
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