Seasonal Wild Fruits, Berries and Nuts in and around Leeds

[jonleeds]

Like many other people I enjoy picking seasonal wild fruits, berries and nuts all around Leeds. I've recently had some lovely raspberries and mulberries which were all growing completely wild. I can remember one summer going to a pub near to Nostell Priory in Wakefield which had a fig tree growing in the beer garden with wonderful fresh and ripe figs which could be picked straight from the branches and eaten. Over the next couple of months there will be tons of blackberries and apples / pears etc to be had. What other stuff have folks picked and eaten in and around Leeds? In particular I'd like to hear about any locations of walnuts and hazelnut trees that can be harvested from freely. If anyone knows where they can be had I'd love to know.

[Cardiarms]

I find squirrels beat you to the Hazels, plenty along the canal. We;re a bit north for walnuts but you never know. They're a mess to process, you end up with purple hands. There's some chestnut trees at the bottom of belgrave Street that give a small crop. Fewer balckberry sites than there used to be as a lot of brownfield gets developed.

[Leodian]

Hi Jon There seems to be loads of apples this year and some trees at least seem not to be on private land. I've noticed such a tree on Scott Hall Road a bit before Buslingthorpe Lane coming into Leeds, though what the quality is I've no idea. An apple tree growing wild near where I live has lots this year but previously though of very nice texture they have been bitterish (probably fine in a pie with sugar!). As Cardiarms says squirrels usually beat people to hazelnuts. I find they often take them before they have even fully ripened and as a result I've had very few ripe hazelnuts in recent years. It may be a bit early but they can be found (searching around) in parts of Hetchell Wood and Ox Close Wood (I've not been to either for 2 to 3 months so I don't know if they are any around this year).Blackberries seem to be coming on nicely where I have seen them, but they are not ready just yet.

[simong]

There are raspberries or possibly loganberries around the Lloyds offices and in Bramley Falls Woods. My brother in law gets a decent haul of blackberries and elderberries on the Knoll in Rodley mostly because he bothers to get up in the morning when they're ripening.

[raveydavey]

Due to the weather this year, we're apparently set for a bumper crop of traditional British fruits, according to one of the papers at the weekend.And for fans of something more savoury it's surprising how many places you can find wild garlic by simply following your nose...

[Steve Jones]

there is a small orchard at Busheycliffe Wood at Rothwell.it was planted as part of the Forest of Leeds project some years back for the use of the public.It is untended, but trees fruit.friends of mine and myself discovered it 3 years ago when we noticed the apples and pear trees among the other trees.open to the public

[Tyke]

I discovered a patch of Sloes last year but Im keeping it secret as they made a fantastic sloe gin.

[raveydavey]

Lots of blackberries and raspberries alongside the footpath from the Wilderness car park out under the A1 bridges at Wetherby. They're just starting to ripen now, so should be a feast in a week or so.

[jonleeds]

I never thought about squirrels having away all the hazelnuts... probably why I never find any, although I'd heard something about there needing to be a male and a female hazelnut tree for any nuts to be produced. I guess the squirrels prefer hazelnuts to acorns because there always seems to be a ton of acorns left.

[majorhoundii]

There are loads of blackberry bushes near us on Troy Road in Morley - and on the path leading down to the station. I wouldn't know where to look for any other fruits.The blackberries seem to ripen sooner these days. When I was a kid towards the end of the long August holiday, we'd be bored and looking for someting new to do and we'd attempt to go blackberrying, but in those days in late August ripe berries were very few and far between - you had to wait until September. I recall getting conkers from Roundhay Park though.The other activity in late August was chumping for Bonfire Night - over two months in advance - time for school!