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About the farm
Park Fruit Farm orchards were originally established in 1935 on an existing mixed farm on the outskirts of a small village called Gt. Holland, near to Frinton-on-Sea, close to the Essex-Suffolk border. It is a small, family run farm, now run by the third generation. It has always remained totally independent from supermarkets and other large marketing corporations. We now sell almost everything direct to the public and so are able to respond directly to what people really want to buy.
The farm is 60 acres which is small for a fruit farm. Only about 14 acres of these are now planted orchards which include 39 varieties of apples; 4 varieties of pears; 10 varieties of plums including damson; 3 varieties of raspberries and one variety of blackberry. We also make fresh pressed, completely untreated pure apple juice. On a small scale we make and sell pure untreated cider vinegar matured in oak.
The soil is mostly clay loam which is moisture retentive and has lots of nutrients which give the apples their superb flavour. |
Originally, when the farm was first set up, the fruit was sent to the London wholesale markets, including the Old Covent Garden. At first the fruit was picked, crated and taken by tractor and trailer to the local railway station were it would be taken by train to Liverpool St. Station, London. Later years, the fruit was taken to London by hired lorries. We are now no longer able to viably send our fruit to wholesale markets, but instead have developed a farm shop with a very strong customer base within the local and regional area where we are very well known and very popular. In 2008 a tearoom was added which is still very much a family run affair and holds the traditionally values of good home cooked baking.
All of our fruit is therefore now sold directly from the farm shop and a few local independent shops. Any surplus fruit is sold to the larger scale juice and cider makers.The farm is family run, now into the third generation. The knowledge of fruit and and way of life of fruit farming is very strong.
In our farm shop we also sell other local in season produce. We are committed to providing our customers with good quality locally grown produce and thus support local producers and farmers.