Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard

The excitement is building, Apple Day is upon us once again!

Apple Pressing Day Sun 13th Oct 2019 2-4pm with Southampton Woodcraft Folk , Transition Southampton and Alan Gibson at Mansbridge Community Orchard (Southampton). 
All welcome, all ages! 
Bring a flask of tea, cake and refreshments.

Meet by the playground at the end of Octavia Road. 
If driving, park by the Swan Inn. 
Wear appropriate clothing for the weather, and for clambering about in woodland and/or operating apple presses or chopping apples. 
Bring a cup for sampling the deliciously fresh Apple Juice! 
Also you could bring any apples from home to add to the pressing.

Weather disclaimer - if it is really REALLY horrible, we'll put it off until the 20th - watch this space https://www.facebook.com/groups/180486315362683/

Meanwhile, my shed is filled with 115kgs of apples that we picked last weekend - the press is working overtime - 5 gallons of juice has already been processed and two gallons of cider is fermenting nicely!

Mansbridge Apple Day 2017 Community Orchard

As we waited patiently to see what the weather would do, on our Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard, my daughter and I baked a scrumptious seasonal Apple Cake to take along. 

We did eventually set the start time back a couple of hours, to dodge the rain and this did catch a couple of people out but fortunately, they all came back later and stayed on until the end of the day. 

Despite the grey skies, damp ground and dripping trees, we had a good turn out, with lots of new, local children joining in. The trees were filled with fruit, as they always are and teams of pickers were shuttling back and forth between the trees and the tables.

At the Southampton Woodcraft Folk base camp, apples were being enthusiastically sliced, diced and chopped up into smaller segments, which were then tipped into the scratting mills, pulped down and tipped into the various cider press baskets.

Then the press screws were turned down and the tastiest golden nectar began to flow by the gallon. People were dodging between the presses filling bottles, various containers or cups and glugging back the delicious apple juice. 

Altogether it was a very successful and fun day for everyone concerned; some people even found time to gather some walnuts from the massive tree nearby (I collected five kilos, in twenty minutes, the day before). 

According to some sources, it was said that in the 'golden age,' when men lived upon acorns the gods lived upon Walnuts, hence the name of Juglans, or Jupiter's nuts.

Don't forget to put the Urbane Forager book on your Xmas present lists!

Community Apple Day

Apple juice, straight from the press, is the best tasting treat of the Autumn (followed closely by Blackberry & Apple crumble). 
If you want to experience this wonder, get yourselves down to the Mansbridge Community Orchard Apple Day. 

This event will take place on the afternoon of 9th October 2016 from about 2:00 pm.  Bring some stout bags or buckets to collect fruit, and join in with the family-based fun, on Octavia Rd Open Space.

If you have any spare fruit from your garden bring it along and we will turn it into delicious juice. The Apple Day is an open air event, do wear robust clothing and footwear (wellies/hiking boots are de-rigeur).

N.B.This is an amateur/volunteer/community based event – as such everyone is responsible for their own health and safety and parents/guardians are accountable for their children.
Remember to order a copy of the Urbane Forager book (now also available for Kindle) as a Christmas gift for your friends and family.

Orchard Update

In August, the kids and I whizzed down to the Mansbridge Community Orchard, on our bikes.

We wanted to check out the progress of the apples and they are looking very good this year, we also wanted to pick some blackberries.

On arrival we set about filling our boxes with blackberries and this did not take long. All along the edges of the field the bramble bushes are covered in sweet fat fruit and the children were soon covered in juice.

We continued to check out the fruit trees, which seem to be benefiting from the extra care now being provided. This coming year we aim to start pruning some of the neglected trees properly. This will improve their health and yield  as part of our on-going plan.

We did spot some fly-tipped rubbish in the bushes, it is such a shame to see careless people spoiling the few parks and wild areas that we have left. Ruining your own environment is so stupid, if you can be bothered to carry your garbage to the park, why the hell can’t you get it to a bin or recycling area?

We got back on our bikes and carried on up the Monks Path, crossed the Monk’s Brook, (some idiot had thrown a bike in here). We saw some more nice apples at the delightful St. Mary’s church, before returning via Woodmill and a game of what we like to call (but probably no one else would) tennis, in the park.

Eventually it was time to get home and cook dinner. Tired and happy we headed back home; we had definitely had our recommended dose of daily exercise and sunshine. Needless to say, we had Blackberries for pudding…

Mansbridge Community Orchard Blossom Walk

The Blossom Walk, through Mansbridge Community Orchard was a great success. It was announced at pretty short notice but plenty of people still turned up and the weather was as good as we could have wished for. Mayflies were flapping lazily over the river and sparrows were flitting out to grab them for tea.

We met on the old stone bridge over the Itchen River. While we were waiting for walkers, we spotted several interesting birds, including a Sparrow-hawk and a Hobby, scanning for prey. On the river we saw a pair of geese with goslings.

We had friends and representatives from many interested parties and volunteers. The Woodcraft Folk have taken a very active interest in the orchard since the outset and have mapped the area and organised a very successful Apple Day event last year. Local photographer Bob Painton was on hand too, with his big lens.

After a leisurely catch up chat with everyone on the bridge, we soon set off and cut through, into Mansbridge Meadow. We then breached the deer barrier and crossed into the fen area alongside the river.

The blossom on the apple trees made them very easy to spot, some were more accessible than others but all of them looked quite splendid. I recommend exploring the area, even if you were unable to attend the official walk. Sometimes, when you get deeper into the woods, it is hard to believe that you are still in Southampton but of course, we were here to check out the fruit trees.

So far this year we have been spending our time keeping brambles and ivy out of the apple trees.  Now, with the help of the bloom we can see even more trees, which we had overlooked previously. Hopefully, we will have a good crop of fruit this year and after the harvest, we can get on with the business of pruning some of the trees.

Several volunteers offered to help with this on-going work and this has been facilitated by a grant from the Airport Community Fund, with which we are buying more tools. The pruning work will increase the amount of light that enters the canopy and improve air circulation, which will help prevent disease and improve productivity.

Ancient Court Leet Preserves Mansbridge Community Orchard

the Urbane Forager with Southampton's Town Cryer 

The Court Leet is a wonderful occasion and also and important ancient rite. It is a place where the citizens of Southampton can air their grievances in front of a Jury of Alderman (including past Mayors and Sheriffs) and the 575^th Sheriff of the City (Councillor Ivan White) as Foreman. The Court was originally held at the Cutthorns, a raised dais at the top of the common but nowadays it is ensconced in the more comfortable surroundings of the Council Chambers in the delightfully light and airy Guildhall.

Starting to Feel the Nerves

Last year, with the help of the Court Leet, it was established that picking fruit and nuts with families was legal on Southampton Common and also the other Southampton parks, provided no unnecessary damage, such as digging up trees was caused (although quite why anyone might want to vandalise trees in this way is a mystery to me). 

All Rise!

This year our aim was to get full permissions established for the development and improvement of the Community Orchard on the Octavia Rd. Open Space at Mansbridge. Louise Owen spoke for the Southampton Woodcraft Folk, who have taken an active interest in the orchard, I was there in my guise as the Urbane Forager and we were ably supported by Claire Diaper and other friends.

The Woodcraft Folk Perspective

The court was opened by our city's Town Crier and presided over by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services. Many interesting articles were discussed and a good number of them were passed swiftly, including (I’m pleased to say) a 20mph speed limit in residential areas of the city and several cycle path improvements. The court is always attended by school children and the youngsters of Bitterne Park confidently laid a presentment to the court regarding parking and access near their school. It’s great to see children getting so actively involved in the democratic process; a lot of adult citizens could learn something valuable from these youngsters.    

the Urbane Forager with the Sheriff of Southampton

As it came to our own turn to stand up and deliver our own presentment, the nerves began to kick in a little bit but the trepidation soon abated. Unsurprisingly, everyone in the Jury agreed that the Community Orchard was a wonderful idea; they saw that it would benefit the good citizens of Southampton and they wholeheartedly passed the motion without further ado.

Hear Yea, Hear yea, Orchard saved in Mansbridge!

After the court had been closed by the Town Crier we were invited to attend a feast, laid on by the city; the sandwiches were tasty as were the apples and, although I’m not sure they were organically grown or locally sourced – but they could be next year, if they want…

You can download or print off a copy of our, Presentment for a Community Orchard in Mansbridge here.

By Bike to Mansbridge Community Orchard

During the summer holidays, I had been looking after the children and they wanted to go on a bike ride. I needed to visit the Post Office and do one or two chores, so I decided on a suitable route and set off. During the trip I decided to teach the kids how to perform the classic cyclist’s “Scoot Start” and the reverse action “Side Dismount”. Easier said than done but they began to pick it up eventually.

After a full mornings riding we returned for lunch but the kids insisted on going out on bikes again as soon as we had finished. I hadn’t visited the Mansbridge Community Orchard for a while, so I thought we would zoom down and check it out.

We took a route through Riverside Park, then on through Woodmill and along the banks of Itchen past the Pitch & Putt course up to the old stone bridge that gives Mansbridge its name.

After this it was on foot through the meadow and into the trees to explore. As we worked our way through this beautiful place, we did remove some brambles and ivy, in amongst the apple trees. Stinging nettles are growing strongly there too, so shorts and sandals were not ideal but we did our best with what we had with us.

Some of the trees have obviously suffered badly with the poor weather this Spring but several are looking as if they will have a very healthy crop. There are so many trees in the site, that even if some fail, others will make up for it. 

One visit was not enough to account for all the trees and we didn’t really get much of a look along the Monk’s Path, so we need to get down there again soon to see if there is any fruit ripening alongside the houses. We did pick and eat copious amounts of Blackberries though...

River of Shame

I managed to find space in my busy life to get out on the river for a row. This was my first outing of the year but it has been very cold recently.

On this day however, it was beautiful warmweather, the tide was full and the river was calling me. It was an impulse decision; so I left my grocery shopping in the boat house and hastily launched the good ship Magpie.

I love rowing, it’s very good exercise but mainly I love it because you get a very different perspective of the city from on the water. Sometimes, apart when you hear a siren or a train rattles past, you would not know that you were in the middle of a large metropolis.

As I got up river toward Woodmill and the reed beds, I began to feel all “Wind in the Willows” and started looking out for birds and wildlife. There are many quite rare birds on the river, I have seen the turquoise flash of iridescent kingfishers, majestic Great Crested Grebes, Black throated divers, among others and on special days - a very playful seal.

What does depress me though is the amount of needless rubbish that thoughtless idiots throw into the river. These precious reed beds will soon be the nesting place for swans, ducks and other wild creatures and yet they are choked with discarded plastic drink bottles and other detritus.

I once provoked a storm in the Echo newspaper, regarding fly-tipping in the river by the Saltmead estate and as a result of that, this criminal activity virtually stopped - perhaps something similar could be prompted here.

We should be proud of our beautiful parks and riverside walks. The people who left this litter were presumably enjoying the park like everyone else, so what is it that makes them spoil this special environment for themselves and everyone else? It must be selfishness, stupidity or lack of education.

Mansbridge Community Orchard Campaign #3

On my third visit I cycled down in my lunch hour on my back-up bike. My number one bike had received a smashed rear wheel on my way to work the previous week, courtesy of a careless driver. If I had been cycling any slower it could have been bye bye Urbane Forager!

This time I had added guidance thanks to local explorer, Bob Painton, Bob is also a very good nature photographer and when I asked if he could take some shots of the fruit in Mansbridge, he did an outstanding job. You can see some of Bob's shots on the Campaign Page or visit his photo stream.

This trip, the third area by the deer stop (next to the fen) revealed itself. It was filled with apple trees with some pears amongst them. I met a local woman named Natalia, she was photographing the apples, I was picking a few and exploring the area.

Massive Comice Pears

On the way home I met Penny and her dog who kindly took this photograph for me – that is the Man’s Bridge behind me and yes, my pannier is filled with Mansbridge apples.



A Rainy Day in Mansbridge on my Back-up Bike



In total there must be at least 50 fruit trees on this Green Space. They are all on the Council's carefully managed land.

The apple and pear trees have grown wild for a number of years now and consequently some of the fruit is quite small but others are full of big red, yellow and green beauties. If the trees were properly pruned the harvest would be greater and the apples bigger and better tasting.

Apples Amongst Flytipped Rubbish - Such a Shame

I do not think that it would take too much time, with the help of a small team of local volunteers and the backing of the City Council with the Park Rangers, to clear the rubbish from this delightfuly wild space and create a Community Orchard.

This proposal will can benefit the area, as well as anyone in the city that cares enough to be involved. It can be used to educate school children about healthy eating and to engage with the natural environment. We could even supply local schools with juice to drink and fruit to eat or cook with.

Establishing a Community Orchard will require permission from the Council as well as working together with advice from the Park Rangers. Some fencing/hedging could be used to protect environmentally sensitive areas and pathways could be carefuly cleared for improved access. The trees will need to be gradually pruned to promote suitable growth and larger fruit. We could plant some plum and cherry trees, to benefit from their earlier fruiting and possibly develop a hazel coppice to use for fencing and nuts.

The Community Orchard can be a beautiful blossom-filled place to walk in the spring. It could be used for picnics and outdoor events in the summer. In the autumn of course we will all be able to benefit from free fruit. All this needs to be carefully balanced with the need to protect the wilderness for the good of plant and animal life.

Beautiful Autumnal Leaves

Anyone willing to offer support of any kind (physical, financial or advisory), please contact us here.

Your Community Orchard Needs You!