Outdoors: Strawberry picking

When I was a teenager I once had a summer job picking strawberries. It was back-breaking and fairly dull. To begin with the upside was as much of this delicious fruit as you could eat. Needless to say I soon grew sick of strawbs and the farmer got a lot more berries for his buck.

Luckily I have overcome this aversion and again enjoy strawberries in season as much as the next person. And frankly, as we all know, the best soft fruit comes from Scotland.

So on a recent sunny Saturday morning I thought it would be a good idea to nip up to Craigies Farm near South Queensferry, revisit my youth and pick some fruit for lunch.

As it happens we weren't the only people to have had that good idea - the place was hoaching with families out with their little blue boxes running up and down poly tunnels grabbing raspberries, then moving onto the strawberry patches. There were lots of really ripe ones practically calling out for my daughter Ellen to pick them, and plenty of little green ones, indicating heaps more to come. Under cover, the fruit will still be available into October, so no need to all rush at once.

While strawberries and raspberries seemed to be the most popular during our visit, there are a huge variety of other fruit and vegetables in the Pick Your Own area, which is beautifully laid out with great views across the wheat fields to the Forth. From asparagus in the spring to pumpkins in October, you can stock up your larders with fresh produce.

The farm shop is brimming with fantastic goodies with everything from exotically flavoured chocolate to local Puddledub sausages. There are delicious jams made by the Sinclair family who own the farm. The restaurant was packed to the gunnels which is as good a recommendation as anything. If we hadn't promised to be home with the berries for lunch we would have been very tempted to stay and eat there. Back outdoors, visitors are encouraged to visit the very friendy hens and there are a couple of pigs who were flat out sunbathing and refused to move no matter how loudly we called them.

In these days when children are so used to having any fruit or vegetable on hand at any time of the year readily available from supermarkets, it's good to get back to nature and let them see where it comes from.

West Craigie Farm, South Queensferry, Edinburgh, EH30 9TR. See www.craigies.co.uk for pick your own prices.