Video: A bumper apple harvest at Beningbrough Hall

A WARM summer means British apples are set to be juicier, tastier and in more abundant supply than last year, horticulturists say.
Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.
Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.

Hundreds of apples are being harvested at Beningbrough Hall and Gardens near York where 42 different varieties of the popular fruit are grown in a walled garden and at a community orchard which is cared for by local families, schools and community groups.

Among the bounty are varieties unfamiliar to most shoppers, such as the distinctively shaped Dog’s Snout and Catshead apples, the grandly named Emperor Alexander and the Ribston Pippin variety which is believed to have first been grown in Knaresborough from seeds sent from Normandy in 1708.

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Chris Hartfield, horticultural advisor for the National Farmers’ Union, said: “What we’re looking at this year is great taste and flavour with apples.

Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.
Head gardener Des Cotton picking apples from the trees in Beningbrough Hall's walled garden. Picture by Gerard Binks.

“We had good warmth over the summer that’s topped up the sugar levels in apples, and in
fact in all fruit, so this season’s apples are going to be sweeter and juicier and probably have more flavour than previous years.”

It has been a very good year for apples at Beningbrough Hall, said head gardener Des Cotton.

“Last year was poor because the bad weather and frosts happened when the blossom was out in the spring – it knocked back the insects that pollinate and the pollen itself,” he said.

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The apples grown at Beningbrough are sold to customers or used to make apple pie and apple sauce in the hall’s restaurant.

With the exception of Mondays when the Hall is closed, this year’s harvest is being showcased to visitors from Saturday until Sunday October 20. Activities include pressing, tasting, walks and talks led by the hall’s gardeners at 1pm each day.

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