We were lucky enough recently to make use of a drone, to get a really unusual view of our orchard and all its blossom. Here’s a little taste of what a drone can do. If you’ve ever wondered what the swifts see on their way from the swift tower, here it is.

In these strange lockdown times, it is the small things that matter most. The view from a window, or the things we see when we are allowed to be outside. Perhaps this daily walk will become a habit, when things return to whatever version of ‘normal’ we might like. I can’t walk in the orchard – I am with family in Norfolk, but whether I am there or not the trees will get on with being trees. The blossom will open, even if nobody sees it. (Very Zen, I know). But I hope that you can get to see the orchard, and sniff the blossom, and look at the flowers and the insects. Spring is not cancelled, it’s all out there. So here are my favourite photos from springs gone by, just to remind you.
The practical bit – the orchard is open access, but please observe the social distancing guidelines if anyone else is in the space. Do not picnic or meet in groups. Please, as always, tidy up and take your rubbish home.

blossom

blossom

On Sunday 12 January 2020, we greeted the trees with music, song and noise. We gave each tree a libation of  apple juice, and we hung toast in the branches. We danced in a circle. All of these activities are traditional ways of saying ‘Wassail’ – good health – to the orchard. And Wassailing  also happens to be an excellent way of keeping warm and making friends in the dark days of winter.  We hope that the trees appreciate our efforts and will reward us with a good harvest this year.  A massive thank you to everyone who turned up and put so much goodwill into it all, and especially to everyone who put so much into our Donations Pot.

Circle dance

Circle dance

It’s official – Trumpington has its very own apple. The Trumpington Topsy apple variety was grown from a pip and is now a fruiting tree, within the chicken plots opposite the orchard. The tree and the apples were assessed by a panel of experts, and its DNA was compared to others in the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale. From all that, the experts said that the seedling was unique, not comparible to any other variety, and could have its own name. And so, we are proud to present – Trumpington Topsy.
Trumpington Topsy is a large, flat-round apple, mainly yellow with a red blush and red streaking. When picked straight from the tree it is good as a cooking apple, but it will sweeten up when stored and becomes a good dessert apple, although it does not keep too long. So far it is a good healthy tree, and we hope to take grafts from it so that we can bring on more trees in years to come.

Don’t worry about our trees, I don’t mean the toothy, dam building type of beaver. Our orchard visitors were the 1st Trumpington Beaver Scouts (aged 6 – 8) , who came to the Orchard a few weeks ago and made a splendid job of a litter pick.
Just last Sunday (13.5.18) the 1st Trumpington Cub Scouts (aged 8 – 11) joined our regular volunteering session and spent most of their time removing brambles – a very prickly task!
We are really grateful for the enthusiasm, effort and help from these young people and their Leaders. We cannot keep the orchard looking good without the work of volunteers, and we hope that in return they learned a little about the orchard and its plants and insect life.
We welcome other group visits, we’ve hosted the Brownies and local schools as well, so do get in touch if you’d like to play a part in your local orchard’s growth.

OK I admit Spring is rather late this year. But the Orchard survived the ‘Beast from the East’ snow, and here and there blossom is cautiously unfurling. This website needs a bit of a spring clean, not least because of new data protection regulations that are coming into force in May 2018. This means that every organisation, no matter how small, has to ask its supporters to actively ‘opt in’ to receive emails and other contacts. So look out from an email for us soon, and please do take the time to stay in touch because we can’t keep the Orchard going without your help and interest.

Our Monthly Maintenance Mornings (Second Sunday and last Thursday of the month) have been off to a good start and so far we are scything the grass and getting rid of any bramble seedlings that have poked up through the ground. All are welcome to come to these – have a look at our Events page for all the dates and see the sign on the Orchard gate.