Lees Orchard
Ten minutes upriver from Launceston in the Tamar Valley, this family-run orchard at Dilston grows eight varieties of apples, three of pears and four of cherries across its blocks above the John Lees Drive farm gate. The cherry season is short, the fruit hangs on the trees for five or six weeks from around mid-December, and pick-your-own opening hours are posted week to week as the crop ripens and thins, with entry cut off before closing time so pickers get a proper run at the trees. Apples and pears carry the property through the cooler months, sold from March to December alongside jams and sauces made on site. It's a working orchard rather than a polished tourist stop, and the reward is fruit that hasn't travelled further than the front paddock. Worth timing a Tamar Valley trip around, given how briefly the cherries are actually on the trees each year.