Abbey Farm Flowers, Abbotsbury, West Dorset
Pick Your Own flowers
Buggy friendly
Dogs on leads welcome
Now here’s a lovely, simple and inexpensive summer holiday activity (or, indeed, any Tuesday, Friday or Saturday from April-ish through to September, weather pending.) Check here for up-to-date opening hours and times.
Amble through the beautiful medieval ruins of Abbotsbury Abbey to Abbey Farm Flowers – a small but gorgeous plot comprising upper and lower flower fields and shop, with all manner of colourful seasonal blooms waiting to be picked and made into your very own bright bouquet!
Pop into the shop and the friendly staff will hand you a pair of snips and a choice of two sizes of vase to fill - £5 for a small one, perfect for a child, or £15 for a large. After a few quick pointers on the best blooms to choose and where to cut, etc (good for the not-so-experienced gardener like I), you’re let loose to roam.
Young children will need supervising with the snips for obvious reasons – younger ones can choose and an adult can do the snipping, or older children can snip carefully for themselves!
Once you’ve filled your vase, the staff back at the shop wrap it into a pretty bouquet and you can take it home to display.
The shop sells some nice gifty flowery goodies, tea, coffee, home-made cake, and Baboo ice cream. We rounded off our flower picking morning with a cup of tea (and an ice cream for the little one) in the Abbey Flowers garden overlooking the ancient tithe barn and farm development (more recently occupied by Abbotsbury Children’s Farm before it closed in 2020.) Word has it that this lovely old place is being redeveloped as an artisan craft centre with shops and café, due to open later in 2022 – so ignore the builders’ vans in the photos, they’ll soon be gone!
If you’re in need of some lunch while in Abbotsbury, there’s a good selection of tea rooms and family-friendly pubs. Wander the high street to find something you like - The Abbey House tearoom next to Abbey Flowers has a large garden and is on our list to try another time.
Parking:
The main village car park is accessed off the main road through Abbotsbury (signposted) and is charged by the hour. This car park gives access straight through to Abbey Farm Flowers.
Toilets:
In high season there are two portaloos in the main village car park, or there are public toilets a fairly short walk away up the high street in the centre of the village. Do beware of traffic as the village gets very busy in summer and the pavements in some places are narrow.
Extend your day in Abbotsbury
There’s lots to do with kids in or near Abbotsbury – check out my blogs on Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens and Vurlands Animal Farm. There’s also Abbotsbury Swannery, where you can get up close and personal with the swans, or walk up the hill to St Catherine’s Chapel for amazing views with a fab adventure playground on the way back (playground address is 2 Seaway Lane, accessed from West Street via Hannah’s Lane.) You’re never far from the beach here – pop down to Abbotsbury beach, or head along the coast road to nearby Burton Bradstock or West Bay, or slightly further on to Weymouth.
