Apples

The area of the Isle of Wight has been lost in a century.

Thanks to renewed interest in living off the land during Covid-19 lock downs, community orchards are booming.

A group of people are planting fruit trees on local green spaces.

Britain's lost apples are being revived by a new generation of orchards.

Standing among the apple trees at Swan Barn Farm,Claire Matthes ponders on the appeal of these timeless places.

She says there is something magical about being away from the usual hubbub of life and being outdoors.

She has set up more than a dozen community orchards through the project.

An army of volunteers is making the most of this year's bumper crop at an orchard on the edge of theurrey hills

Image caption, The orchard at Swan Barn Farm has grown from six to more than 100 trees

The site used to have just six apple trees, but now there are more than a hundred.

The sound of the scratter and the smell of apples can be heard in the air.

One person looking up from chopping apples said, "What better thing to do than come out here on a nice day and help the environment and the community?"

Image caption, Chopped apples waiting to be pressed

An interest in growing healthy local food is one of the reasons for the revival of community orchards. With the cost of living crisis biting into people's food budgets this year's bumper crop couldn't have come at a better time.

Local meals-on-wheels services and food banks get fruit from community orchards. She thinks there's more of a consciousness about not wanting fruit to go to waste because of the cost of living.

The Royal Horticultural Society has seen an increase in gardening groups growing crops since the swine flu epidemic.

Many of these groups want to reap the community and educational benefits of growing, caring for and harvesting their fruits but also the environmental and wildlife benefits of trees.

Image caption, Apples will be sweet with a good flavour this year

Local heirloom apples are being planted in many instances to help keep the heritage alive. There are over 2,000 heritage varieties of apples in the UK.

Take the Beauty of Bath, the Pearmain, and the Red, for example, from the village of the same name. The Gennet Moyle is an old cider apple that was saved from extinction.

Most of the heritage apples never make it to the supermarket shelves and their names are vanishing from the lexicon. Jim Arbury has a mission to revive lost fruits through his knowledge of apples.

Image caption, Jim Arbury in the orchard at RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey

We put this apple detective to the test, and he quickly identified two mystery apples from Swan Barn Farm, a popular Victorian apple that dates back to Roman times, and a sweet cooking apple.

There's good news for apple lovers everywhere, as you can see from the pictures on social media feeds.

Despite a summer of extreme weather, apples have done well, thanks to a frost-free spring and long hours of summer sun.

Jim Arbury says they are going to taste great. They're going to be sweet and firm, with lots of sugar in them.

He wants to make apple juice and cider.

Helen can be followed on social media by using the handlehbriggs.

  • Conservation
  • Environment
  • National Trust