Wymeswold Community Orchard

Wymeswold's new Community Orchard has been planted in the Washdyke field, and contains 123 fruit trees. There are cooking apples, eating apples, cider apples, crab apples, pears, cherries, damsons, plums, greengages, medlars, quince, mulberry, walnuts, cobnuts, almonds and hazel trees.

The Orchard has been sponsored by 123 different families and organisations in Wymeswold, each sponsoring a different tree, but when there is fruit to pick it will be available to all villagers.

The first meeting, with the initial ideas was in May 2007, and rapid progress led to planting days in November and December 2007 involving many villagers, young and old.

Lots of people helped in the enterprise - a committee to sort it out, helpful nurserymen and women who helped source the trees and gave advice, the Young Farmers, who were invaluable in digging the holes for all the trees, the many planters, Ian Smith, who gave invaluable advice, having been involved with the Community Orchard in Hose, John Morris of Six Acre Nursery, who gave advice, sourced many trees, and donated about 500 daffodils for the Orchard, the team who provided refreshment during the planting sessions, and the many folk who gave encouragement.

The Washdyke stall at the Duck Race - May 18th 2008

The Washdyke stall at the Duck Race

The Washdyke Treasure Hunt Game

This game was kindly donated by Paul Sellers and was used at the Duck Race on 18th May 2008. Profit from the game goes towards the Play Area.

There was a wonderful show of daffodils by mid April. Not early, but they had only been planted in late January.

The first fruit tree blossom in the Orchard, and already there were insects pollinating the flowers.

A galiant team of community minded folk gathered in March to collect litter from the Washdyke site

The first planting day could not have been worse weather. It was freezing cold and raining hard, but in spite of terrible conditions villagers turned out in large numbers to help plant the trees that they sponsored.

Many thanks to Dave Hall who planted lots of trees on Planting Day

Planting trees in the Orchard was a family event for many Wymeswold families, including the Henshaws,who all turned out to give their tree the best start in it's new home.

Dave Clarke was still smiling after hours of planting.

Charles and Sam Collington planted a number of trees in the Orchard

Steve and Maggie were invaluable, and planted lots of trees for people who had prior arrangements for the planting day.