AUTUMN – A BEAUTIFUL TIME TO VISIT ENGLAND’S MOST UNIQUE ORCHARDS
Tucked away in the corner of the Garden of England lies Brogdale Collections, home to the National Fruit Collection – the world’s largest collection of temperate fruits.
Autumn is a wonderful time to visit the orchards which contains thousands of apple trees positively bursting with fruit and colour. there are drifts of orange, yellow, red and green as far as the eye can see. Brogdale is truly unique in that it is home the largest number of apple varieties in one location – with a staggering 2,200 varieties housed by the Collections. Nowhere else can you walk along row after row of stunning apple trees and enjoy looking at so many different fruit trees in one place – including some rare, unique and heritage varieties.
Harvest heritage apples at Brogdale – for the first time!
An unexpected consequence of COVID19 has been that Brogdale Collections has a surplus of fruit which would normally have been sold or used at its annual events. So, for the first time this year, it has opened up its gates to allow visitors to harvest their own heritage fruits at Brogdale’s Heritage Orchard Days.
The final two Orchard Days are taking place on the 17th and 18th October and will include apple-related fun for the whole family – including fruit tastings, orchard walks and fruit trails. Most importantly, visitors will be able to taste and harvest Brogdale Collection’s fruit and try these unique and heritage apples for themselves.
Find details about Heritage Orchard Days here
Fun for the kids too
On the 28th and 30th October, Brogdale is also holding Heritage Juicing Days for half term fun where children will be able to collect and taste fruit from the orchard and enjoy squelching them through the juicing machines. They will also be able to take part in trails around the orchards.
Here is information on Brogdale Collection’s half term activities
Enjoy year-round visits
In addition to specific events, year-round access to the orchards is possible with Brogdale’s Orchard Pass which entitles people to prebook self-guided orchard walks. Now is the perfect time to invest in a pass which lasts a whole year and passholders will enjoy some lovely Autumnal walks round the orchards, taking in the splendid sights of apple trees at their most beautiful and abundant.
To find out more about Orchard Passes and booking Orchard Walks click here
