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 ...
Fantastic, and what an amazing view in the background. A really lovely spot.
ReplyDeleteAnd this was on a relatively dull day CJ, imagine what it would be like when it's sunny :)
DeleteIt looks spectacular!
ReplyDeleteIt was - very much using your estate to convey how much power you have like Blenheim does so effectively.
ReplyDeleteWe were at Powis Castle last week, which was spectacular too. You would have loved the giant cannas and aeoniums in the terrace borders :)
Wow! Stood in the same spot VP a few years ago - isn't it fabulous :)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is Anna - this was taken this time last year :)
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DeleteWow... now that is a grand entrance and an amazing viewpoint! It reminds me of Disneyland Paris back in 2000 with its entrance to mark the millennium of small hexagonal paving tiles with peoples names on them (at a cost). The hills in the background act like the castle at Disneyland :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Shirley - I see what you mean! The hills in the background are the Wicklow mountains which dominate the scenery over several counties in Ireland. The highest one in the photo is the Great Sugar Loaf, which you can see easily from Dublin and from where we were staying in Wicklow.
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