Orchard Outlook

Orchard Outlook We took over a little patch of woodland that turned out to be an orchard planted for wildlife!

Happy Christmas to our woody neighbours! Over the last year I’ve been putting together a cider making video blog showing...
26/12/2025

Happy Christmas to our woody neighbours!

Over the last year I’ve been putting together a cider making video blog showing what we’ve been doing with all the apples that we’ve harvested. It started in Autumn 2024 and quite literally is a year in the making.

If you’d like to watch it you can do so via the link below

This video is quite literally a year in the making. Join me in the woods for something a little different as I take a breather from delivering historic exper...

As spring starts to appear it’s a great opportunity to collect some birch sap. It’s quite easy to do, there are a few me...
31/03/2025

As spring starts to appear it’s a great opportunity to collect some birch sap. It’s quite easy to do, there are a few methods but to avoid causing permanent damage to the trees I went with the least invasive option. You start with making a straw from some of the coppiced hazel and then slice into the bark of the birch tree with a sharp knife. Insert the hazel under the bark and the sap will then run down the hazel and into a container. You can drink the sap straight from the tree as the Vikings once did to celebrate the changing of seasons. It’s quite refreshing with a slight sweetness. Or you can simmer it over heat and reduce down to a syrup in the same way that Maple Syrup is made.

This is the result of reducing nearly 1 litre of sap, less than a shot glass of syrup! It has quite a unique taste, quite sweet at first with quite a bitter after. It’s hard to explain, it tastes like silver birch which is strange because I’ve never tasted it before 😂

Today I found the random half of a coconut husk on the ground. Spring is definitely here, clearly the swallows are retur...
02/03/2025

Today I found the random half of a coconut husk on the ground. Spring is definitely here, clearly the swallows are returning.

Isn’t nature beautiful?
03/11/2024

Isn’t nature beautiful?

Poorly aged things. Turned out not to be a good year for apples!
29/10/2024

Poorly aged things. Turned out not to be a good year for apples!

It’s going to be a good year for apples!

27/10/2024

Busy time in the orchard, mostly thanks to Adam dropping off crushed apples for everyone to enjoy

27/10/2024

We were around a lot in the summer, so there wasn’t much wildlife activity, but some of it was quite fun!

22/10/2024

Pressing some apples for the nicest apple juice you’ve ever tasted. It’ll be even nicer next year when it’s finished fermenting and has aged!

It’s going to be a good year for apples!
27/08/2024

It’s going to be a good year for apples!

After a couple of winters of lots of clearance and now some grass cutting around the trees, it’s starting to look like a...
20/05/2024

After a couple of winters of lots of clearance and now some grass cutting around the trees, it’s starting to look like an orchard!

Spring is finally springing! It’s starting to feel like an orchard again
08/04/2024

Spring is finally springing! It’s starting to feel like an orchard again

It’s the first time our little pear tree has properly flowered since we planted it! Hopefully we will get some fruit thi...
25/03/2024

It’s the first time our little pear tree has properly flowered since we planted it! Hopefully we will get some fruit this year

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