A good year for berry pickers means award-winning liqueurs are back on the shelves

Sloe berry picking at Raisthorpe Fine Foods’ 1,500-acre estate has resulted in a fine harvest.

Raisthorpe needs two tonnes of sloes for its range of gin, sherry and port - some of which are used in Harvey Nichols cocktail bars - but last summer was a washout. Owner Julia Medforth said: “In 2000, we planted 20 miles of new hedgerow including blackthorn and this year is the first year they have been plump and juicy too.”

James Moulstone, woodland team leader at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate, said blackberry, blackcurrent and sloe berry crops had thrived across the region because a late frost in May had been avoided this year.