Where can I get Bilberries from?

My elderly father in law use to really enjoy bilberry pie when he was a youngster, as he is approaching his 88th birthday my wife thought she would bake him a bilberry pie....problem is, no one seems to stock fresh or jarred bilberries in the Sheffield region...tried all the usual supermarkets and local shops, they got blueberries but not bilberries.,...any ideas?...thanks.

My elderly father in law use to really enjoy bilberry pie when he was a youngster, as he is approaching his 88th birthday my wife thought she would bake him a bilberry pie....problem is, no one seems to stock fresh or jarred bilberries in the Sheffield region...tried all the usual supermarkets and local shops, they got blueberries but not bilberries.,...any ideas?...thanks.

Are they out yet?

My elderly father in law use to really enjoy bilberry pie when he was a youngster, as he is approaching his 88th birthday my wife thought she would bake him a bilberry pie....problem is, no one seems to stock fresh or jarred bilberries in the Sheffield region...tried all the usual supermarkets and local shops, they got blueberries but not bilberries.,...any ideas?...thanks.

Bilberries are difficult to cultivate agriculturally and labour-intensive to harvest in the wild, so they're rarely available for sale - unlike the related blueberry which is much more farmer-friendly. So if you want to taste the superior bilberry, you have to wait until they're ripe (July) and go and pick some for yourself.

The bilberry picking season is August into September.

There are plenty of sites around Sheffield but you need patience and nimble fingers to pick a large quantity.

If you go to the parking area at Wyming Brook on the Lodge Moor Road there are bilberry bushes up to your left.

I prefer bilberry and apple pie so you can soon pick enough for a pie or several if it is a good year.

They freeze well also.

---------- Post added 16-05-2016 at 12:59 ----------

Just another thought.

Most commercial source of bilberries are from Poland,so you might be able to find the bottled variety in the Polish Grocers on London Road,near Highfield library.

I used to regularly go bilberry picking as a kid - mostly on Wadsley/Loxley Commons - and the adjacent parts of Bradfield -like Kirk Edge, Onesmoor, Holdworth etc. It would take absolutely bloody ages to gather even a small Tupperware boxful, and they would have collapsed practically into mush by the time you got them home, but it was worth it! My mum would make fantastic bilberry and apple pies and tarts - all cased in delicious, crumbly, buttery, shortcrust pastry..... which my younger brothers, my sister... and I... would then wolf down..... either warm, with custard, or cold, with fresh cream.

I've seen jars of preserved bilberries (in syrup) in the Eastern European food shops near where I live in London, but I've never, ever, seen fresh bilberries on sale anywhere - not in supermarkets, not in fruit and veg shops.

I guess the nearest alternative is the ubiquitous and very widely available blueberry. I like blueberries well enough , they are very similar in texture and flavour to our native British bilberries.... but they are really bland in comparison to the real thing! Native bilberries are much, much smaller -and are far, far superior in intensity of flavour.

As previous posters have already said, it seems that the only way to get proper, authentic British bilberries these days.... is to wait until July/August time - then to go out on t'moors and pick your own!

Try the Polish shops in Sheffield (or Ozmen on London Road) as bottled bilberries re popular in eastern Europe. Blueberries are a larger version of bilberries and fresh ones are on sale most of the year. Hope this helps.

My elderly father in law use to really enjoy bilberry pie when he was a youngster, as he is approaching his 88th birthday my wife thought she would bake him a bilberry pie....problem is, no one seems to stock fresh or jarred bilberries in the Sheffield region...tried all the usual supermarkets and local shops, they got blueberries but not bilberries.,...any ideas?...thanks.

I've got a bilberry comb which makes the job quicker, but that's not for a couple of months yet.

I'm sure I've seen Bere's sandwich shop selling bilberry pies.

Due anyone know what has happened to all the big bilberries this year. Went to get some and they are all gone..... We're there none or had someone been there already?

Had a bilberry pie from Beres hardly any taste in it