- This event has passed.
Key details
When:
Date:
Time:
9th Nov
10:00 - 16:00
10th Nov
10:00 - 16:00
16th Nov
10:00 - 16:00
17th Nov
10:00 - 16:00
Where:
This year’s plantation is at:
The Rookery
Sow Lane
Rougham, Bury St Edmunds
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
Pricing:
Tickets to come to the plantation
Per tree: £10
Trees from: approx. £20
Collection Weekends:
23/24 Nov, 30 Nov/1 Dec, 7/8 Dec Trees are held until the following Thursday
Choose your tree on the plantation
Visits to the plantation have now finished for 2024.
Freshly-cut Rougham Estate trees are available daily from 22 November to 22 December 2024 at Blackthorpe Barn.
If you have any queries about your tree, email us on hello@roughamestate.com
Everyone has their own idea of the perfect Christmas tree. What could be better than going onto the plantation and choosing it for yourself, right where it has been growing for years! You can wander through hundreds of trees of different shapes and sizes until you find “the One”.
It’s a wonderful experience for everyone; very exciting for children, and your dog (on a lead) is welcome to come with you too.
We’ll cut your special tree, perfectly fresh, just a day or two before your selected collection date.
Choose from 3 collection weekends when you book; your tree will be at the Barn ready, wrapped and waiting for you and is held until the following Thursday. At a time that suits you (within our opening times), come to Blackthorpe Barn, pay for your tree, take it home and make it look beautiful for the festive season (perhaps include a visit to the Christmas shop for some new decorations!).
Tree Prices
This year’s pricelist for cut trees is available a week or so before the PYO Tree weekends.
Rough price guides from previous years are:
6ft Nordmann/Fraser Firs: approximately £45,
6ft Norway Spruce: approximately £30.
Your tree will be measured and priced according to the current year’s prices.
The PYO Tree service of locating, cutting and preparing your chosen tree for your specific collection date costs £10 in addition to the normal cost of the tree.
Rougham Estate is a proud member of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association.
Important information
Gallery
HOW IT WORKS
01
Booking your time slot
Book your time-slot ticket for when you would like to come and choose your tree. You can come with as many people as you like; the time-slot ticket is to time your arrival at the plantation and the cost is per tree selection.
With each time-slot ticket, you are able to choose up to 3 trees. Upon booking, please tell us how many trees you would like to choose, and let us know the name to go on the name-tag for each tree. Each tree incurs a cost of £10. The first tree is paid for online and we will take the payment for any extra trees at the check-in to the plantation.
When you are booking, let us know when you would like to collect your tree(s) from the 3 weekends on offer (end of November to mid December); trees are held for you until the following Thursday after your collection weekend. You don’t have to come at the weekend.
Unfortunately we are unable to change your collection weekend once you have chosen it.
The cost of £10 per tree is in addition to the cost of the tree.
02
Arrival
Arrive at the plantation in enough time before your designated timeslot to check in (map below). You are welcome to come with the whole family and your dog, on a short lead.
Park near the plantation where you will see a banner and the Christmas tree hut. There is plenty of free parking at The Rookery.
In the event of poor weather on the day, we still go ahead with the timed check-ins on the plantation and cannot rebook your time-slot.
A smooth check-in for everyone depends on the timed arrival process working well – please help us by arriving on time.
03
Collect your personalised label
Check in at the plantation, confirm your details including your chosen collection weekend and collect your special tree labels at the hut.
If you want to choose more than one tree, pay for the extra trees here, £10/tree (card preferred).
04
Finding your tree
When you have found your tree, tie the special label on the top so we can find it easily at cutting time and get it ready for you.
Why not take a selfie with your tree!
05
Location
Make a note of the numbered area in which your tree is located, to let us know where to find your tree.
06
Tell us where to find your tree
On your way out, stop off at the check-in and let us know which numbered area your tree is in and what type of tree it is, if you know.
07
Get yourself a warming drink
Blackthorpe Barn is about 1 minute away, so perhaps go to Blackthorpe Barn’s Roots Café for a warming drink after your adventure, or for a browse around the shop, which is open on both PYO Tree weekends and the Arts and Crafts Fair, open on the second PYO Tree weekend.
08
And relax...
Head home with the knowledge that you are going to get the exact tree that you want to be the centrepiece of your Christmas festivities, freshly cut and prepared for you, ready when you want it.
09
Tree Cutting
Just a day or two before your selected collection days we will go to the plantation, find your tree, cut it and bring it to the Barn where we will prepare and wrap it for collection.
10
Collection
Come to collect your tree on your chosen weekend. It will be waiting for you, ready and netted in the tree sales area, to the side of the big Barn.
If you can’t make it at the weekend, we will hold your tree until the end of the following Thursday.
Pay for your tree, take it home, and enjoy!
See the tips on looking after your cut tree.
11
Tree Delivery
We can offer a tree delivery service within a 30 mile radius of the Barn, if preferred. The delivery cost depends upon the distance.
Please email Simon Eddell (Christmas Tree Manager) on simon@roughamestate.com
Things to bring
- Warm and waterproof clothes: tree branches can be very wet
- Gloves: some trees can be quite prickly
- Sturdy footwear: the plantation be muddy with puddles
- A tape measure to make sure that the tree is the perfect size to fit your house
Predominantly Nordmann Fir
Due to most people wanting Nordmann Fir for the long needle-retention times and softer needles, this is the predominant tree grown. However, there are other types of tree including Norway Spruce and Fraser Fir, but in smaller numbers.
Plantation
Due to trees being grown in cycles, the plantation is constantly evolving, with some trees being cut and others becoming bigger. Therefore the area from which customers can choose a tree will alter as years go by.
Information about pre-cut trees here
See other Christmas events
PLEASE NOTE
When trees are cut
For safety reasons, we cannot cut any trees in the plantations on days when the public are there and members of the public cannot cut trees themselves.
Your chosen tree will be cut at least a week (or more) after your visit the plantation.
Cancellations
If you are no longer able to attend do please cancel your ticket, releasing the time slot for someone else.
Refunds can only be given if the booking is cancelled 3 days in advance of the booked time.
Please fill in the cancellation form (link in the ticket email).
TESTIMONIALS
WHERE TO FIND US
Sow Lane
Rougham, Bury St Edmunds
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
Plenty of parking at The Rookery.
Free to park.
Disabled access to the field is available.
This is a field which can be muddy and uneven underfoot.
The plantation at The Rookery is situated just south of Junction 45 of the A14, between the junction of the A14 and the entrance to Blackthorpe Barn.
The entrance to the plantation is just opposite the entrance to Ravenwood Hall Hotel, about 200m from the Barn.
FAQs
The PYO Christmas Tree event is set up to be as efficient as possible, which means that each tree is labelled with a coloured tag and all trees with that colour label are cut at the same time.
We are unable to go and search for your specific tree on the plantation and cut it on another day, to prepare it for collection at a time different to your chosen collection times.
Yes, you are welcome to bring well-behaved dogs on a lead to the Christmas Tree plantation when you come to choose your tree.
If the weather is a bit chilly, dress up warmly – the plantation is all outside. If it’s been raining, do wear wellies.
You may like to bring gloves because the trees can be a bit prickly, and bring a camera to take a picture of your beautiful tree and where it has been growing.
Bring the family – it’s a great experience for young children.
You are welcome to bring your well-behaved dog on a short lead too.
Once your tree has been tagged with your colour-coded label, your chosen collection weekend cannot be changed.
All the trees with the same colour label are cut at the same time (Red: Weekend 1, Blue: Weekend 2, Orange: Weekend 3).
However, your tree will be held for you from the start of your chosen collection weekend until closing time on the following Thursday, so you have six days to pick it up.
If your tree is not collected by the end of that Thursday, it will be offered for general sale with the other cut trees.
Due to most people wanting Nordmann Fir for the long needle-retention times and softer needles, this is the predominant tree grown.
However, there are other types of tree including Norway Spruce and Fraser Fir, but in smaller numbers.
The PYO Christmas Tree event happens at one or other of the tree plantations on Rougham Estate. Which plantation is used is only decided close to the picking weekends.
In 2024 the plantation is The Rookery, which isn’t actually at Blackthorpe Barn but is very close and is halfway between the Barn and junction 45 of the A14. You can find the details of how to get there in the Where To Find Us section of the PYO Trees page.
To get to the Barn, use this postcode: IP30 9HZ.
Not all events on Rougham Estate happen at Blackthorpe Barn; please check the specific details for the event you wish to attend.
More information on finding us easily can be found on our visitor information page.
We will cut your selected tree a day or two before your chosen collection weekend and will hold the tree for you until closing time on the following Thursday.
You can collect your tree at any point from the Saturday morning until the Thursday evening (during our opening times).
If you haven’t collected your tree by the end of Thursday, your tree will be added to the general cut Christmas trees sales area for anyone else to select and buy.
You are welcome to come as a family to the plantation to choose your Christmas tree(s). The booking you make is for an arrival time, so that we can manage the check in process efficiently, not for a specific number of people.
Once you are checked in, you are welcome to stay at the plantation until you find your perfect tree.
You can choose up to 3 trees from the plantation in one timeslot booking, with a charge of £10 per tree (in addition to the cost of the trees).
You are welcome to have 3 different names on the tags for the 3 trees, just tell us the different names when you make the booking.
We will take payment for the extra trees when you check in at the plantation.
The PYO Christmas tree service is available to you to enhance your Christmas experience, if you would like to.
We open up the plantation for you to visit and find your perfect tree, giving you a personalised weather-proof label with which to tag your tree.
A day or two before your specified collection weekend we then go to the plantation, search for your chosen tree (double-checking it is indeed your tree!), cut it especially for you, measure and net it and set it aside for you.
The cost for this service is £10.
If you don’t wish to pay this £10, you are very welcome to choose from the pre-cut trees available in the Christmas Tree Sales Area.
Unfortunately we can’t change your chosen collection weekend once you have booked your time-slot.
Your tree will be held for you from the start of your chosen collection weekend until closing time on the following Thursday. You have six days to pick it up.
If your tree is not collected by the end of that Thursday, it will be offered for general sale with the other cut trees.
If you have only booked your time-slot, and have not yet chosen your tree on the plantation, and you need to change either your picking or collection times, you may be able cancel your PYO Christmas Tree booking, if it is still more than 3 days before the day you are coming to the plantation, and rebook your ticket for another time.
Let us know you want a refund for your original booking on hello@roughamestate.com
Yes, we offer a Christmas tree delivery service within a radius of about 30 miles from Blackthorpe Barn. Depending on where you live, the delivery cost will vary accordingly.
Please email Simon Eddell, the Christmas Tree Manager, on simon@roughamestate.com for details.
Unfortunately we cannot change your timeslot due to forecast poor weather.
We will go ahead with the check in at the plantation even if the weather is not great.
Yes, we have some lovely dog walks around the Estate, with more being added soon. Please see our Walks page.
Although Rougham Estate is known for its Christmas tree plantations, there’s lots more to do here too, especially at Christmas!
Roots Café is open all year round at Blackthorpe Barn, as is the Christmas shop at Christmas time, and the Garden Room shop at others times.
For the second weekend of PYO Christmas tree, the renowned Arts and Crafts Fair is also taking place in the medieval thatched barn – just the thing to get you into the mood for Christmas, with makers from around the country selling their hand-crafted goods. You’ll find the perfect Christmas present here.
Don’t forget to visit the fabulous Christmas Shop too, open daily from mid October to a few days before Christmas.
There are also walks of different lengths and difficulties that start at the Barn and take you around the Estate.
At different times of the year we hold other events such as the sunflowers in summer and pumpkins in autumn.
Keep your eye on our social media accounts and our website to see what’s happening here.