To kick-off a successful and sustainable New Year, on 23 January 2023, Stamford Community Orchard Group (SCOG) planted 30 historic variety fruit trees in a new 2 acre community orchard.

The new orchard is at Hudds Mill, off Uffington Road, Stamford, and will be home to a variety of trees, including apple, plum and pears.

SCOG are passionate about the history of local orchards, and have been working hard for over 5 years to rediscover and cultivate a range of local varieties in and around Stamford.

The group's Facebook page explains: "As well as being a wonderful town to live in and visit, in Victorian times the town was surrounded by orchards and nurseries growing apple and other fruit trees. Over 40 varieties of apple were bred here, but with the passing of time many of these have been lost. With the development of the town and the change in farming practices most of the old orchards has disappeared, although some remnants are still visible in the gardens of newly built houses."

As such, Stamford Community Orchard group aims to re discover these lost apples. The group have a community orchard which they maintain, as well as striving to provided for the local wildlife. They also run workshops on caring for your apple trees, as well as going into schools to encourage younger members of the community to use the orchard as an educational resource."

Image courtesy of SCOG.

The orchard at Hudds Mill is their latest project and, when fully cultivated, will contain over 30 heritage apple varieties. The planting of these began yesterday with the support of 12 local residents and members of SCOG.

Miranda Rock, the SOCG President and custodian of Burghley House, officially opened the orchard yesterday, 23 January.

This is an ongoing project, with more trees set to be planted and maintenance required to cultivate a healthy crop.

Over the next two years, approximately 90 apples, plums and pears will be planted on the site as part of the woodland planting on the Uffington Meadows by Burghley Estate.