Pick Your Own Fruit at Tibbs Farm, Near Rye, East Sussex

We visited Tibbs Farm in the picturesque Tillingham Valley, just outside Rye for the first time last July and we loved it. Pick Your Own fruit places are such fun. You can have a couple of hours out in the East Sussex sunshine having fun as a family and take home some tasty produce too. We're determined to get along to Tibbs Farm at least a couple of times this year, once restrictions lift. 

Pick Your Own Fruit

Tibbs Farm has been running as a PYO for decades now and you can tell, as their operation is slick. There is great variety in what they grow too. We went there for raspberries last year but keep an eye on their Instagram page that they update regularly and you'll see what is ready for picking and when. Looking at last year the schedule was roughly as follows (but of course each year can be different depending on the weather, rainfall etc) -

• Early June for gooseberries (a whole host of varieties, some of which are sweet enough to eat like a grape) 
• Early to mid-June for strawberries, 
• Quickly followed by tayberries from mid-June
• Loganberries end of June
• Blackcurrants and chillies in mid-July
• Early August for plums

Their picking season opened on 11th June 2020 last year, so I am planning for similar this year and already have a weekend in my diary, so I don't forget!

Visiting Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, East Sussex

A great free place to visit

A couple of weeks ago when life was more normal, my husband and I headed out for a walk around the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and had a quiet lunch together. Of course, right now, we couldn't do that as the pubs are closed and we're all staying home to heed off the coronavirus but I think it is important that we can enjoy the wider outdoors from the comfort of our homes right now.

Also, it's enjoyable to plan where we can go once the lockdown is over and things are safer again. Looking back on photos of all the amazing places I have visited is definitely helping me not to feel so cooped up since we started to self-isolate nearly two weeks ago. 

We were really impressed with the nature reserve, it's free, it is massive (465 hectares to be precise) and there is loads of free parking at the entrance to it, as long as your vehicle is under 2 metres. You are encouraged to make a donation in the car park, to help with its upkeep and ensure it stays free for all to use, but you can't moan at that!

There are easily accessible public toilets too, and nearby are a couple of pubs, a cafe, bed and breakfast, shop and the lifeboat station, all just a few minutes walk from the parking. 

Visiting Rye, East Sussex - Perfect for the family

Last weekend we took our pastoral group over to Rye for an afternoon out, enjoying time together and the local area. Our intention had been to have a picnic on Winchelsea beach and then head into Rye but for a lovely sunny day it certainly was windy and there is no shelter on Winchelsea beach so we left that for another day and picniced in the park in Rye instead.

This turned out to be just perfect as many of us headed in the children's play park for some fun and others laid back and enjoyed the sunshine and a relax. The park on Fishmarket Road is excellent and has something for everyone, loads of good play equipment, large fields, room to picnic and play, a bowling green and car park with toilets.