Wassail at Horfield Community Orchard, 14th Jan 2023

Cidering the apple tree roots – Wassail 2021

Wassail at Horfield Organic Community Orchard, Bristol on Saturday 14 January, 2-4pm

  • Mulled juice & home made cakes for sale
  • Bring clouties & shiny things to dress the trees

To find the orchard (nearest postcode BS7 8JP) – Walk down the lane beside 22 Kings Drive (between Bishop Road & Kellaway Avenue), turn left and it’s the first gate on the right.

OR

Take the lane beside 134 Longmead Avenue (BS7 8QQ) until you come to the last gate on the left.

Contact HOCO c/o the website to sign up for up-to-date information: www.community-orchard.org.uk

Phone: 0117 373 1587

A successful Christmas market at Hartpury Orchard Centre

posted in: cider, Hartpury, orchard, perry | 0

From Jim Chapman:

A very good turn out for the first Christmas market at Hartpury Orchard Centre last weekend!

Warm enough for folk to sit around outside enjoying a pint of perry, a mulled cider or a mug of homemade soup!

The Gloucester cattle in the orchard took an interest too!

Holly and mistletoe were popular – we should have cut more, and freezers are now well supplied with locally reared meat. The Old Spot burgers particularly popular and one kid has since asked Father Christmas for more of those sausage rolls!

Already planning for a bigger and better one in 2023!!

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Pictures from Days Cottage Apple Day

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The perry pear painting on the bench is by Chris Bingle, whose work can be seen at subtlecolours.com

Apple Days are here

Have you been to an Apple Day this season yet?  Many of our local events have happened already (click on our Past events tab to see these), but some are still to come.

National Apple Day was launched in 1990 by Common Ground. Their aspiration was to create a calendar custom, an autumn holiday. From the start, Apple Day was intended to be both a celebration and a demonstration of the variety we are in danger of losing, not simply in apples, but in the richness and diversity of landscape, ecology and culture too. It has also played a part in raising awareness in the provenance and traceability of food.

The concept was initially set as 21st October but, in practice, the date is variable depending on which area you’re in and what orchard group is doing what.

It has become incredibly successful over the 30 years since – with events taking place all over the country organised by local orchard and apple groups, across a range of dates throughout October.

For information on Apple Day events around the country visit https://ptes.org/campaigns/traditional-orchard-project/orchard-network/apple-day/

https://www.commonground.org.uk/apple-day/

Shaking the Severn Bank

Helen from Days Cottage getting a full work out while shaking a Severn Bank apple tree in the Museum Orchard at Day’s Cottage.

She writes that ‘we’ve used the fruit to make a first experimental barrel of 100% Severn Bank as the crop has been so heavy this season. Will let you know how it turns out next year.’

Big Apple Harvestime 8th and 9th October 2022

Big Apple, the orchard association for the Much Marcle area, is holding its annual Harvestime weekend on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October.

Nine venues are ready to welcome visitors to Much Marcle over the two days.

The venues have plenty to offer visitors. There will be opportunities to enjoy the local orchards, see, hear and smell cider and perry being made and taste and buy many different varieties of apples, local ciders, perries and apple juices.

Full details at https://www.bigapple.org.uk/harvestime2022/

Apple Day at Fishponds Community Orchard 9th October 2022

Fishponds Community Orchard are holding their Apple day on 9th October at Thingwall Park Allotments.

From midday until 5pm.

There will be juicing, cider, other produce plus woodturning, live music and story-telling.

Details from fishpondsorchard@gmail.com or their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FishpondsOrchard/

 

Tim Andrews on BBC Gardeners World, tomorrow, Friday 30th September 2022

An update on the previous news about this – the broadcast is due tomorrow, Friday 30th, at 20.00.

Details on the BBC website here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001clnc

Tim Andrews, from Orchard Revival in North Nibley says:

Watch us talk about the work we do restoring traditional orchards in Gloucestershire on BBC Gardeners World. Over the last 50 years Gloucestershire has lost over 75% of these amazing habitats. Here at Orchard Revival we prune and re-plant these traditional orchards and more importantly share orchard skills so others can do it too.

The segment was filmed in the beautiful Pocketts Orchard, in Whitminster where we help lead orchard restoration for the Cotswold Canals Connected project and the Gloucestreshire Wildlife Trust as part of the Stroudwater canal restoration.

If you miss us on TV you’ll be able to hear us on BBC Gloucestershire with Kate Clark on Sunday 2nd October from 10am. Kate and I will be having a good chat about all things orchards, along with my work with the Gloucestershire Orchard Trust, Cotswold Canals Connected, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, CPRE Gloucestershire and The Ernest Cook Trust.

 

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