Hayling Island attraction Sam's Sunflowers at Stoke Fruit Farm pleads with customers to stop posing naked in field

Sam Wilson, co-owner of Stoke Fruit Farm on Hayling Island, shared the plea on social media after three seperate reports of nudity at the family attraction in a single day. He said he was reluctant to police customer behaviour but was forced to take action to ensure all visitors can enjoy the sunflower field, where families visit to pick their own sunflowers.

A statement from the farm posted on social media said: “Reminder to all we are a family area and please keep your clothes on in the sunflowers! We are having a increase of reports of naked photography taking place and this must not happen during our public sessions please!”

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Since sharing issuing the request – and erecting “no nudity” signs – the attraction has been the subject widespread discourse online, with many finding humour in the situation. Sam said the farm has attracted a “whirlwind” of international media attention.

Speaking to The News, Sam said: “We’re just asking people to keep their clothes on. It goes on all the time – people like that sort of photography and art in the sunflower fields. We never had an issue with it because had been doing it in secluded places.

“We had three instances in one evening and I thought ‘perhaps I just need to tell people not to do it. It was just the way it was being done and the places it was being done in.”

“Sam’s Sunflowers” – adjacent to the farm shop – is a popular backdrop for instagram pictures and professional photo shoots, and the farm provides props like straw bales to this end. The site spans 50 acres with roughly 2 million sunflowers.

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The venue was closed toady (August 18) due to flooding but Sam anticipates that the overnight media exposure will be good for business. The site will be open this weekend, but customers are asked to check the Stoke Fruit Farm Shop Facebook page before travelling to avoid disappointment should poor weather force its closure.