Juicy news from Widecombe

All good things come to those who wait, as Widecombe’s parishioners can surely testify.  When in 1983 Sir William Van Straubenzee bequeathed the field in the centre of the village for the enjoyment of parishioners, and expressed the hope that it might be planted as an orchard, no one expected it to take nearly 40 years to fulfil.

Now though, the beautiful ancient meadow is going to be planted with a range of 40 traditional varieties of Devon cider, dessert and cooking apples. There are some fabulous names to conjure with, such as American Mother, Ashmead Kernel, Lord Lamborne, Pixie, Ribston Pippin, Lord Derby, King Byerd, Howgate Wonder Dabinett, Tremletts Bitter and Slack ma Girdle.

The trees are being donated to the village through two schemes: Protecting Devon’s Treescapes, a project run by Devon Wildlife Trust, and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Further funding for tree guards and stakes is being raised from a launch party and through sponsors who are donating £50 per tree.

Local villager Michael Brown is leading the project on behalf of the Parish Council. “We are hoping that this little-known space right in the centre of the village is going to be a real asset to Widecombe in the future. We plan to hold events across the year such as Wassailing and apple pressing and it will be a very good educational resource for both the school and the pre-school. We still have a lot of work to do, not least planting 40 trees, felling some dead trees, clearing banks and repairing fences. We are working without a budget at the moment, so if anyone can spare some time or indeed would like to sponsor a tree, please do get in touch.”  Mikebrown007@hotmail.com