Last Chance to Visit Grays Farm Before Closure

Grays Farm in Heathlands Road, Wokingham Without will close on October 31 after more than 50 years feeding Berkshire. But in June the fields are still buzzing, the overflow car park is full and families are picnicking across the green.

Farmer Peter Gray, his wife Elizabeth and son Paul want to go out with a bang, inviting the community to visit, taste strawberries and celebrate their family legacy before the final October 31 deadline. He said: "It'll be really sad for the customers and the schools, but we're here until the end of October and we want it to be the best year ever."

It's strawberry season now; raspberries and potatoes will be ready soon. Peter said: "We have four varieties: they're grown for flavour, not shelf life. "If you want to keep them at home, go to the supermarket. We've got the flavour."

The farm grows a long list of crops through the year and expanded from two PYO crops to 22. Strawberries and raspberries remain the favourites, filling the car park and covering the fields with picnicking families. Peter said: "When we test the fruit, it's quality control. When the customers taste it, it's advertising. " "Taste the fruit to test its quality, but please don't feast."

According to the Chairman of Wokingham Without Parish Council, the parish is working closely with Borough Council to plan a sports complex on the farm. Cllr Nicholas Martin said: "Wokingham Without Parish council is charged with participating constructively in the Grays Farm project whilst also ensuring that Pinewood continues to flourish as an important leisure centre for residents. People from all over the borough use Pinewood, which is really a national treasure and which is run of course by Wokingham Without Parish Council. Both the Gym club and the Judo club of Pinewood have sent members to participate in the Olympic Games."

The closure marks the end of a 53-year run for the Pick Your Own destination and wraps up a family farming story stretching more than 150 years. The Gray family's agricultural journey began in 1874, when Frederick Gray set his son up at Heston, near Hounslow, growing for Covent Garden Market. Generations followed until the original land was sold for housing in 1969, prompting Peter Gray's parents to move to Wokingham.

Initially the Wokingham farm supplied wholesale markets, but economic turmoil in the early 1970s and the rise of supermarkets pushed the family to sell directly to the public from 1973, inviting families onto the farm to pick their own fruit and veg. Wokingham Council bought the land in 2014, with the Grays renting it back and running the farm ever since.

When the farm closes Peter plans to stay locally and Paul will look for a new role. Paul said: "I'll work for someone else and have an easy life." His father said: "He's lucky - he's got a good boss."

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter