The Angmering farm, known for its strawberries, seasonal produce and tractor rides, had become an annual tradition for families from across Sussex.
Roundstone Pick Your Own Farm near Angmering has closed permanently after around 50 years, following the retirement of its proprietors.
The family-run farm, on Littlehampton Road near the A259, confirmed that its fields had closed for good and would not reopen for the 2026 summer season. A recorded message on the farm’s telephone line said the decision brought around five decades of pick-your-own farming to an end.
In its announcement, Roundstone said it “has now closed due to the retirement of the proprietors”. The business thanked customers for their loyalty and said it hoped families would retain happy memories of their visits.
For generations of Sussex families, Roundstone was more than somewhere to buy fruit and vegetables. It was part of the summer calendar: collecting a basket, climbing aboard the tractor and heading out into the fields to see what was ready to pick.
The farm generally operated from late May until late September, depending on the weather and the crops. It grew a wide selection of fruit and vegetables, with strawberries, sweetcorn and pumpkins among the produce many regular visitors remember most clearly.
Roundstone’s tractor ride was another important part of the experience, carrying visitors between the different picking areas and helping families return with bags and baskets that were often considerably heavier than planned.
Its reputation extended beyond the immediate Angmering, Worthing and Littlehampton area. In 2021, Roundstone was selected by Guardian readers as one of Britain’s best pick-your-own farms, with its family atmosphere, range of seasonal produce and tractor rides singled out for praise.
An annual journey from Hove
For this reporter, the closure is personal.
I live in Hove and travelled to Roundstone with my children every year for around a decade. Several of our friends made the same annual journey with their families.
The tractor ride was always part of the occasion, but the real attraction was the freedom of being outside in the fields, choosing our own fruit and showing the children where food came from.
There was no complicated itinerary and no need for an expensive attraction. We would arrive, collect our punnets and spend a few hours walking through the rows. The children invariably became more interested in the strawberries than in the careful business of filling their baskets.
Roundstone was in West Sussex, but it was very much part of summer for families from Brighton and Hove too. That is why the closure will be felt well beyond Angmering.
Families share memories of Roundstone
The announcement prompted numerous messages from customers recalling annual visits, childhood trips and family traditions built over many years.
One commenter wrote: “Will be missed, one of the best things in the area for all.”
Another family said it had visited regularly for 15 years and that trips to the farm would remain part of their children’s memories. Other customers asked whether the land might one day be leased to another operator so that pick-your-own farming could continue in some form.
The strength of the response reflected the unusually long relationship many families had with the farm. Some customers first visited as children before returning years later with children or grandchildren of their own.
That continuity was central to Roundstone’s appeal. Each visit was slightly different because the weather, the season and the available crops changed, but the essential experience remained familiar.
Where else can families pick their own fruit in Sussex?
Roundstone’s closure leaves families with fewer pick-your-own options close to the Sussex coast, but a number of seasonal farms continue to operate elsewhere in East and West Sussex.
Maynards Fruit Farm, Ticehurst
Maynards is a family-run pick-your-own farm in East Sussex offering summer and autumn fruit. Its seasonal produce can include strawberries, cherries, raspberries, currants and plums.
Tibbs Farm, near Rye
Tibbs Farm at Udimore operates a seasonal pick-your-own fruit farm and café. Visitors should check its current crop updates before travelling because availability changes throughout the season.
Dell Quay Pick Your Own, near Chichester
Dell Quay is an all-weather pick-your-own farm offering strawberries and raspberries during the summer, followed by pumpkins later in the year. It also operates a café and sells Christmas trees seasonally.
Spring Gardens Nursery, Washington
Spring Gardens Nursery is a family-run pick-your-own farm, farm shop and café near the South Downs. Its seasonal crops can include strawberries, raspberries, asparagus, plums and sunflowers.
New House Farm, near Horsham
New House Farm at Faygate offers a short pick-your-own strawberry season, generally beginning in June and lasting according to crop availability and demand.
Pick-your-own opening days can change at short notice because of weather, ripening times and the number of visitors. Families should always check directly with a farm before making a special journey.
The end of a Sussex family tradition
Roundstone’s closure removes more than a place to collect fresh produce.
For many families, it ends an annual ritual: the first strawberry-picking trip of the summer, the tractor journey around the fields and the familiar debate over whether one more punnet was really necessary.
Its proprietors closed the business by thanking customers for their custom and loyalty. Judging by the messages left by generations of visitors, the feeling was mutual.
For our family, and for friends who made the journey from Hove year after year, Roundstone will be greatly missed.
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