National Trust visits Charingworth orchards

On a fairly damp Wednesday morning Kate Merry, the Orchard Officer for the National Trust, came to Charingworth for her first visit to the orchards. Grahame Fisher (owner), Kate and myself toured both the 1940s and 1920s orchards, braving soggy undergrowth to give Kate an idea of the sites. We also went through the budget of where the money is to be spent over the next year and a half. We have been awarded six thousand pounds to help fund the restoration pruning of all 85 standard and half-standard apple trees, along with bramble removal, strimming and replanting the gaps where trees have died. It was fantastic to finally have a meeting between our funding partner and the landowners.


from right: Kate Merry (National Trust), Grahame Fisher (landowner) and myself.

Kate, Grahame and one of the more stately trees in the 1920s orchard.