For all the idiosyncrasy of the English summer this year (not much of a summer) the British orchards seem to be weighted down with their seasonal bounty. Â Whether it’s the orchards of Herefordshire or the country lanes of the Midlands I’ve noticed vast amounts of fruit, ripe for picking. Â I admit I was very tempted to sneak an apple or pear off the tree during my visit to Berrington Hall but resisted the temptation since they were holding on to the fruit for a special Orchard weekend the weekend I leave for New Zealand.
Seeing the orchards laden made me more excited for the prospect of what may yet come from our own small orchard when it matures.
We won’t of course had quite the number of varieties of apples there are in England. Â There are hundreds many of which seem to be set ready for exhibition at Berrington Hall.
The closer I got to looking at all the apple varieties the more I was tempted to lift one from the plate and take a bite. Â And we all know what happens when you take a bite of the forbidden fruit.
Already my mind is whirring of the culinary possibilities of apples, pears, plums, cherries, quince and feijoa that should be quietly cultivating in the orchard at home.