On Friday 1st February 20 students, staff and members of the community helped plant a new orchard which is being developed close to Windmill Hill. In years to come the orchard will become part of the University’s edible trail encouraging people to pick and enjoy the fruit and relax in the outdoor space.

We worked with a fruit tree expert from the Heritage Fruit Tree Company to select a good split of seasonality in the trees. There is a range of apples, pears and cherries, which will give the longest fruiting season for this area. The orchard will consist of twenty trees, many of which are local to Warwickshire or have historically been grown in the area, and some of which have even been quoted by Shakespeare in his plays. These are some examples of the species included:

Apple – Leathercoat – in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2
Apple – Shustoke Pippin – historic Warwickshire apple which keeps for two years
Pear – Conference – a classic, sweet and juicy fruit
Pear – Williams Bon Chretien – once the world’s most commercial pear
Cherry – Burcombe – dark red, sweet and good for preserving