I am not the type of person who writes regular bucket lists (mainly because I try not to give myself more work than I already have), but one of the things that I desperately wanted to do this autumn was to go apple picking in an orchard. I have a bit of a love affair with this season; I adore everything about it, and for some reason apple picking was one of the most autumny activities I could think of (and also one that I had never done before but have wanted to for a number of years)! So yesterday, for my birthday treat (yes, birthdays don’t get much better than this), we headed off to a fruit farm.
We went to Broomfield Fruit Farm in Meopham, Kent, on the recommendation of a friend (about a 25-minute drive from Chislehurst).
We arrived mid-afternoon and we were the only people there (I was surprised really. I expected there to be loads of people desperate to pick apples on a rainy Monday in September. No? Just me? Ok then…). We parked up and the lovely farmer came over to ask if we were there to pick apples; I think he thought we were lost. After confirming that we were in fact there to pick apples, he brought us some bags and explained the layout of the orchards. He told us which apples were ready for picking and invited us to try a few as we went along. And with this we set off!
We started with the “cooking” apples, and once we had enough for a couple of crumbles we moved onto the “eating” apples. It ended up being the perfect activity for A and E. So many of the apples were at their height:
They were easy to pick (if ripe, the apple will simply fall from the tree with little effort):
And they loved being able to taste as they went along (it was definitely a very healthy activity):
I was amazed at the large variety of apples available (including Bramley, Discovery, Laxton Fortune, Worcester Permain, St Edmunds Pippin, Cox, Early Windsor, Jupiter, Laxton Superb, Spartan, Sunset and Kent – more than I had ever heard of), as well as the varying shapes, sizes, colours and tastes! There was one variety (the name of which I cannot for the life of me remember) that looked like plums – they were so small and red; these were definitely A and E’s favourites, and they were perfect for tiny hands!
I think that fruit picking is such an important part of childhood. Not only is it fun to pick your own fruit, and very healthy, but it is so important for children to learn where their food actually comes from. And there is no better way to teach them that than to actually show them, and let them do it for themselves!
Despite the rain, the whole experience was just wonderful. The hardest part was trying not to pick too many!
We ended up with three full bags. At £1.10 per kg these were an absolute bargain and I am wondering how many more visits I can squeeze in before the end of the apple season!
What are your favourite autumn activities?
Chocolate and Wine and I'll be Fine... 
I used to love apple picking when I was a kid – it’s great way to start autumn! #familyfun
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I agree, I can’t believe I have never done it before. I think it will become a bit of a tradition!
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You know I don’t think I have ever been apple picking! Strawberry and blackberry but never apple. I bet it’s a great activity for the kids and they love it, I know mind would. Also you can’t beat a crumble or stewed Apple, with a little bit of sugar mmmm yummy! Thanks for sharing at #familyfun. Hope to see you again next week xx
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I am so glad I am not the only one! I definitely recommend it! I think I will definitely have to make a crumble!
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What a lovely idea. Why don’t you try growing some trees from the apples!? We did this about 3 years ago and have one left and it’s 3 foot now. It’s a slow grower! Looked like the kids had fun and what an experience for them to find out where their food comes from. Thanks for linking up to #familyfun
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I would absolutely love to grow my own but we don’t have much of a garden sadly – just concrete! Definitely one day when we have a proper garden!
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Wow, that’s an amazing price! I always find with strawberry and raspberry picking you end up paying as much as in the supermarket anyway, but this is more like it! I’d definitely be going for a crumble myself – if there are any blackberries still around to go in it, so much the better! Thanks so much for joining us again at #SharingtheBlogLove
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I know I was shocked at the price too! Like you say, at PYO they normally end up being on a par if not more than the supermarket so I was very impressed! I sadly think I completely missed the blackberries 😦
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What a great activity to do with kids. We have a lovely pick your own farm near ours and this has reminded me that they have their pumpkins nearly ready!:)
mainy
#FamilyFun
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Oh yes I think they are – I certainly keep seeing them in the fields looking ready! I can’t wait!
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We live in an apple area. Everyone has apple trees. This time of year, you can’t give them away. Our trees produce enough to keep us in apple pies all year round. Saying that, I love the idea of going to someone else’s orchard to try different varieties. Your two look like they didn’t even notice the rain. Perfect. #CountryKids
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Aww you are so lucky! I don’t know anyone with one. Yes I did like visiting a real orchard that belonged to someone else – and the sheer variety there was amazing!
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Happy Birthday, this definitely looks like a lovely way to spend it as a family. What a fab activity for you all too, I usually try and take the guests apple picking for activity hour around now, unfortunately the Coombe Mill Orchard’s not played ball this year so we’re lacking in apples. A and E look like they’re having a wonderful time trying all the apples as you pick them, I bet they didn’t want much for their tea.
Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.
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Thank you! Oh no that is such a shame! We seem to have had a bumper crop in Kent. Yeah they loved it – they are big fans of fruit,but no they wouldn’t eat their tea :-S
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I’ve been looking for a local orchard to us but not having much luck.Do you know what you plan to make with them all?
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Oh no 😦 We have had a very busy week with them – we have made crumbles, muffins, toffee apples, and meatballs (they make the best meatballs) 🙂
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This looks like fun 🙂 My mum has a few apple trees and my kids use to love picking them 🙂 #Countrykids
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Aww I am jealous of how many people have apple trees of their own! It is such a fun activity isn’t it?!
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We haven’t done any apple-picking. Would love to do this, especially since looks like you guys had so much fun. We’ve done blackberry picking though, but would love to do this too 🙂 #countrykids
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I highly recommend apple picking! We seem to have missed the blackberries this year though which is a shame, as that is another one I love to do!
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Apple picking is so much fun and I love that there was such a variety to choose from. My in-laws have a few apple trees in their garden although they are too tall for my girls to be able to pick any of the apples. Having read your post, I’m quite tempted to pay a visit to our nearest PYO so that they can join in the fun. Looks like you had a lovely time 🙂 #countrykids
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Oh no that is a shame! I was amazed at how low some of the apple trees grew – they were all at a perfect height for my two! I would definitely recommend a visit if you have one local!
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Bargain! This reminds me of my childhood we used to go apple picking all the time, we don’t have an apple picking near us. Just strawberry and raspberry, which we love. It’s crumble all the way for me. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove X
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Crumble is definitely the best! I can’t believe I never did this as a child!
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We’ve also been apple picking for the first time this year, and like you, had an utterly fantastic time! I too, was amazed at how low the fruit grows and how toddler friendly an activity it is! This looks like a lovely orchard, and kudos to you for remembering the different apple varieties! #CountryKids
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I am so glad I am not the only one who has never done it before. It is amazing isn’t it? I did cheat though – I took photos of the apple varieties signs, and also checked the website (I had never heard of any except Cox and Bramley before so I would never have remembered them all)! Oo I am going to check your post out now!
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Yes, it really is amazing, something I plan to do every autumn! And I wouldn’t call that cheating…just using the resources available haha! 🙂
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Wow, those apples look amazing! Your children look like they’re really enjoying them. It’s something I haven’t ever done but picking our own fruit was on our summer bucket list and we never got around to doing it.
#countrykids
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They are quite obsessed with apples 🙂 Oh no! We missed blackberries and didn’t get round to strawberries this year either (it is amazing how short the seasons actually are when you are so busy) but apple picking was a top priority for me and it didn’t disappoint. I highly recommend it!
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Oooh I’d love to go apple picking too. Such a lovely activity for little ones and I love anything which teaches them about where things come from. Looks like A and E had a great time. You’ve inspired me to find out where we can apple pick locally, thanks! #countrykids
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Yes I didn’t even think of that but it really does teach them about how things grow – perfect! I would definitely recommend it!
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Wow me and my daughter would love this activity 🙂 she loves apples as do I and you cant beat a fresh one picked from the tree 🙂 #CountryKids
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You really can’t! They are so amazing! And have lasted a surprising amount of time too!
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I love this post! I love apples and picking them. I am yet to take my children as we haven’t found a farm close enough but what a great activity for your little ones to participate in. You can do so make from making chutneys and crumbles to painting and crafting. We used to make apple aliens which were like doughnuts with apples in. Must find that recipe again. Thank you very much for joining us on our first week of #ChasingNature If you are still having problems adding the badge please contact either me or Chasing Esme and we will help. Hope to see you back next week
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The aliens sound amazing, I am very intrigued! I was so happy to find a farm so close, and there were many others to choose from too, but this one was recommended over the others!
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Looks like a great day out, I laughed when you said you thought loads of people would be there! haha #Sharingthebloglove
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Hehe! I do love being able to go to places during the week when they are quite empty, but I have never been the only people somewhere before!
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This looks like a great activity to do with children! I love fruit picking and I will definitely do it with my son as he gets older, I think it’s great for them to learn where fruit and veg comes from! #SharingTheBlogLove
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It was so much fun – one of the best things I have done. I think I took it for granted that they would know where apples come from though – they were amazed to see them growing on the trees!
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This looks fab, my eldest would absolutely love this and my mother-in-law would be very grateful, she makes an apple pie a week it seems! I’ll have to check it out, we live in Kent also so I’m glad I read this! x #sharingthebloglove
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Hehe it was an absolutely lovely farm – I think this will definitely become an autumn tradition for us now!
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What a fabulous thing to do! We really must do this over the next few weeks. Gorgeous photos! Thank you for sharing. #Sharingthebloglove
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Thank you!
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It looks like a fun day out and such bargains too! I am off to google if there is somewhere like this near me x
#sharingthebloglove
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Hehe I didn’t realise we had them here – I have been so jealous of the Americans over the last few years. It turns out they’re all over and I am an idiot 🙂
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What a lovely autumn day out! I love autumn too and apples are my little girls favourites at the moment, she even had a few bites out of a cooking apple a couple of weeks ago! would love to find an orchard nearby to go to instead of buying the usual supermarket varieties, the more apple crumble in our life the better! x
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Hehe it really was amazing how many we ended up with. I couldn’t believe how much cheaper it was than the supermarket!
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I love autumn too. We’ve done acorn collecting, conker hunting, and blackberry picking so far this year. But I’ve never thought about doing apple picking. I’ll have to see if there’s anywhere near us that does it. I totally agree with you – it’s a great lesson for children to learn, and they enjoy doing it too #SharingTheBlogLove
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We completely missed the blackberries this year 😦 I must remember that they a lot earlier than I expect! I was so happy there was somewhere close by – apple picking is something I have wanted to do for years!
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Apple picking was on my to do list last Autumn and we had a very similarly fun time. It’s a perfect family activity I think xx
#sharingthebloglove
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I agree- it was perfect! It will definitely become a family tradition I think!
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