In a bid to make this week's shopping trip a little less painful than usual, my partner and I decided to walk to take the long way around to the supermarket via the park. En route we discovered that the blackberries had come early this season and the brambles lining the path were heavy with fruit, just begging to be eaten. As we stood contemplating how to reach them without getting snagged on the thorns, a man popped up behind us, showed us how to get to the back of the mass of bramble to reach the really juicy fruit, and then he was gone again.
Back on the main path we found a family stood where we had been just minutes before. We showed them where to go and continued on our way in a cloud of goodwill and happiness.
It wasn't long before we came across a giggling couple with telltale purple fingers and lips. Then a family; then another couple; then a family again. Some were stood on the pathway; others snuggled deep into the undergrowth. Most were clearly opportunistic pickers like us, although one or two had come prepared with heavy duty gloves and collecting bags.
There's something magical about stumbling across wild fruit that's ripe for the picking. I remember many a happy camping trip, welly boot deep in thorns and berry juices. And what it is about picking wild fruit that makes it taste so much sweeter than anything you can buy from the shops?
Perhaps it's because it's free? Or maybe it's because it's like "borrowing" a couple of apples from over your neighbour's fence, just without the guilt.
Where are your favourite wild fruit picking spots?
