Lowick Community Orchard
A special space of 1.8 acres of fruit trees
We have created an organic orchard at Hunting Hall for our local community. In 2011 & 2012 over 60 local people, from the ages of 2 to 80, joined us on the farm to begin planting 120 heritage fruit trees. Each tree has been sponsored by a member of the public, and there are apples, pears, plums, damson, greengage, and even a medlar now growing in the orchard.
Some wonderful old varieties were chosen; an apple descended from Isaac Newton’s tree, which inspired his theory of gravity, an apple taken to sea by Captain Cook’s men to prevent scurvy, and a pear listed in the writings of Roman historian, Pliny. We’ve also had some cuttings grafted from a local farm orchard apple to grow the Doddington Pippin.
A grant from Natural England and the support of many people have made our project possible. We’ve designed paths that wind through the (very young) trees and, with a donation from a kind local gentleman, we have added a belvedere in which you can sit and enjoy the fabulous views across to the sea. Tall grasses mixed with wildflowers have been sown between the trees and you may find small patches of snowdrop bulbs in the spring. We hope it will become a lovely area for the village with picnic benches and seats next to the paths to help you relax and enjoy the fruit trees (though it may be some time before the trees grow very big!).
We manage the orchard very carefully as part of our organic certification scheme, so no chemicals or artificial fertilisers are used to help the trees grow. Lowick Community Orchard is owned by Hunting Hall but it’s open to the public through a permissive access scheme. You can walk to the orchard along grassy footpaths from the farm or from Lowick village.
We have created a simple quiz for all ages and an easier children’s task for the orchard. The answers can be found on signs around the site. You can download the quiz sheets here:
Bring a picnic, explore and have fun!
