For Apple Day: Eat your way to the river
It's Apple Day, one of my favourite days of the year and what better way to celebrate than to tell you about my recent trip to Longney, where Gloucestershire Orchard Trust have 18 acres of apple orchard under their tender care. Here you'll find older orchards with some trees well over a century old, plus their newer plantings of around 94 Gloucestershire cultivars which have just acquired national plant collection status at Plant Heritage . The jury's out on the actual number as DNA testing has revealed at least one locally named variety is actually a more well known one: Ribston Pippin in this case. Don't worry, there are dozens there which definitely have their origins rooted firmly in Gloucestershire and their cultivation at Longney is vital to their continued presence and preservation. There were around 200 local varieties at one time and today it's around 100 still in existence. Steve Mason - the Trust's Curator - was our knowledgeable guide who invited ...
Hi VP, thanks for the link to the petition. First time round I wasn't convinced because I reasoned that temporary sites had their place. Thinking about it now I don't think it's fair that allotmenteers should have so little security so it really falls to councils to do their duty by the Allotmet Acts and provide enough statutory sites for everyone who wants one.
ReplyDeleteI've signed the petition. Thanks for the reminder as I should have done it when you first blogged about it!
ReplyDeleteWe have more or less the same problem too with allotments in the Netherlands. More and more are disappearing (new roads, housing development ect.). But more and more people want to grow their own food and where should they do that if they have no or a very small garden? sigh!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
Done and dusted. Will pass the link on. Many thanks !
ReplyDeleteSimon - thanks for the matched posting on your site and the link back to me. It looks like a few people have come over to sign the petition.
ReplyDeleteFlighty and Anna - good for you!
Yolanda - it's really sad isn't it. Hope you had a good Easter too!