From late summer to early autumn, blackberries start appearing in fields and country lanes.
When I was a child, everyone used to go blackberry picking, grandparents, parents, and their children. Sometimes, it was classed as a day out! My mum used to give me a bowl, and off we went. I think nowadays it's called foraging
We've not had much sun recently, so it's still a bit hit and miss in finding any berries that are ripe. It was never a good sign when the grass was trampled flat around the blackberry bushes as it meant someone had beaten you to it.
We did eventually find a few ripe ones to fill a bowl. If they are ripe enough, they should just pop off the bush with minimum of effort. We always pick the berries from the top of the bush as they are probably a bit cleaner, and no dogs have cocked their legs up them! As usual, everybody went home with purple fingers and lots of scratches from the brambles.
My mum and grandma used to take the blackberries home and make a pie or a crumble with them. Not many people bake pies nowadays. I expect it is easier to pop down to the supermarket and buy one. You can also make jam and gin with them and even freeze them.
I'd like to say we made a pie but sadly we just washed the blackberries and put some cream on them!
