Bilberry rake
Updated: 21.10.2026
You call the fruit wimberries, blaeberries, whortleberries, or whinberries. A bilberry rake is a small comb for Vaccinium myrtillus, about a centimetre, and the rules differ in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Which scoop to order is the [berry picker buying guide](/hub/garden-tools/berry-comb/sub/berry-comb-buying-guide). The stroke is on [how to use a berry picker](/hub/garden-tools/berry-comb/sub/berry-comb-how-to-use). Prices are on the [Berry comb comparison](/hub/garden-tools/berry-comb). This page joins the plant to the comb. It is not a right of access.
You call the fruit wimberries, blaeberries, whortleberries, or whinberries.
You call the fruit wimberries, blaeberries, whortleberries, or whinberries. A bilberry rake is a small comb for Vaccinium myrtillus, about a centimetre, and the rules differ in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Which scoop to order is the berry picker buying guide. The stroke is on how to use a berry picker. Prices are on the Berry comb comparison. This page joins the plant to the comb. It is not a right of access.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Teeth | Catch | Weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Gardena Gardena combisystem berry picker | Rotating plastic | 0.8 L basket | 234 g | 9.0 | about £21.58 | View offer |
| Best value |  CKB LTD CKB berry picker, green | Metal | Stopper plate | 460 g | 9.0 | about £12.32 | View offer |
| Alternative |  GUGULUZA GUGULUZA berry picker, black-red | Metal on spec | Raised edge | 350 g spec | 8.4 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
Which plant you are combing
Bilberry is Vaccinium myrtillus, about 1 cm with pink-red flesh, unlike the white flesh of a cultivated blueberry, on a shrub often 20 to 60 cm. A shop blueberry is not wild fruit in law. Wildlife Trusts note Phytophthora kernoviae on bilberry since 2007, so leave a browned patch alone and do not move soil between sites. If you are not sure it is bilberry, do not eat it. Poisoning from an unidentified berry is urgent care.
When the fruit is worth a comb
BBC Food puts the UK pick at July to September, fruit blue with a bloom. Shropshire Wildlife Trust marks the first Sunday in August as a local start for whinberries on the Stiperstones, a custom on one hill, not a law. A comb is worth using when the patch is dense. Wild Food People say a picker can strip leaves, so it belongs where bilberry is abundant. On a sparse plant, use your fingers. Sort unripe fruit and leaves dry at home. Tooth material is on the metal or plastic berry comb page.
Where you are allowed to pick
In England and Wales, section 4(3) of the Theft Act 1968 means picking fruit from a wild plant is not theft unless it is for reward or sale. Cultivated fruit is outside that exception. The Act is not a right to enter land. On open-access land, intentionally damaging plants is restricted, and uprooting needs permission. In Scotland, personal picking is customary under the Outdoor Access Code, commercial taking needs permission, and NatureScot’s 10 percent figure is a guide, not a criminal limit. National Trust land: personal use, leave plenty, and no foraging on an SSSI or ASSI without consent. Northern Ireland is not that English exception. NetRegs says you need permission to gather wild fruits. Wash what you pick, and do not take it from roadsides as a default.
Which comb the UK reviews used
CKB reviewers name South Wales wimberries and Scottish blaeberries. The listing is 4.5 from 356, £12.32, nine metal combs and 460 g, with a bent comb on arrival and small berries that fell through in a poor year. GUGULUZA’s shared file, 4.2 from 1,662, also praises bilberries and reports cracked bodies. The colours are not three tests. Gardena’s UK comments are cherries and plums, and the pole is extra. For bilberry, the reviewed pocket tool here is the CKB-style metal scoop, checked for straight tines, and stopped while fruit is still on the plant.
Common questions
Are wimberries and blueberries the same berry?
Wimberries, blaeberries, whortleberries, and whinberries are local names for bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus. A cultivated blueberry is a different plant, with white flesh rather than the pink-red flesh Woodland Trust describes, and the berry is usually larger. Shop blueberries are not the wild crop this rake is for. If the flesh is pale, you are not holding bilberry.
When is the UK season?
BBC Food gives July to September. Local hills vary. The first Sunday in August is a Shropshire custom for whinberries on the Stiperstones, not a start date for the whole UK. Go when the fruit is blue with a bloom and comes off with a light stroke. Hard green fruit is a reason to wait, not a reason to rake harder.
Will a currant comb miss fruit this small?
It can. Bilberries are about 1 cm, and a gap wider than the fruit lets them drop through. These listings do not print the gap. One UK CKB review said small berries fell through in a poor year. Try a single pass into your hand. If you hear fruit hitting the ground, that comb is too open for this crop, whatever it did on blackcurrants.
Is picking on a moor theft?
In England and Wales, picking fruit from a wild plant for yourself is not theft under section 4(3) of the Theft Act 1968. Picking for sale or reward is not covered by that exception. You still need the right to be on the land, and cultivated fruit is different. Scotland treats personal picking as customary and commercial taking as something that needs permission. Northern Ireland: ask, because NetRegs says permission is required to gather wild fruits.
What changes in Scotland and in Northern Ireland?
In Scotland, personal picking sits with the Outdoor Access Code, commercial picking needs permission, and NatureScot’s 10 percent figure is a guide to leaving most of the crop, not a fixed offence. In Northern Ireland, GOV.UK points to the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and NetRegs says you need permission. Do not copy the English “not theft if it’s wild” line into either place and call it done.
Can I use a comb on an SSSI?
National Trust policy says do not forage on an SSSI or an ASSI without consent. A comb is fast, so the damage risk is higher than with fingers, and on CROW open-access land intentionally damaging plants is already restricted. If the site is designated, ask the site manager before you take the rake out of the bag. A local ban overrides a general article.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are from amazon.co.uk in this category snapshot.
- Theft Act 1968, section 4 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- GOV.UK — guidance for safe foraging (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- GOV.UK — open access land (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- NatureScot — foraging in Scotland (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Woodland Trust — bilberry (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- RHS — blackcurrants (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Gardena UK — combisystem berry picker (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Business Companion — general product safety (retrieved 21.10.2026)