Woodland celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

As King Charles’ III settles into his new role as monarch, the local community at Alconbury Weald is celebrating the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with the opening of Elizabeth Walk, a new woodland that will link Senliz Road to the future Runway Park as part of the Queen’s Jubilee canopy.

Elizabeth Walk, named following a community poll, includes 70 trees planted by local families last November in honour to the Queen’s 70th anniversary.  The trees include apple, pear, quince, cherry, mulberry, plum and damson which, as they mature, will bear fruit for the whole community to enjoy.

The first apple orchards were planted by the Romans in Britain around 200BC and there are now over 2,500 varieties of apple in the UK.  Eleven different types of apple trees, the majority of which originated in Cambridgeshire, have been planted in Elizabeth Walk.  These include Chivers Delight and Histon Favourite, which were developed by the Chivers family, who started a successful jam-making factory at Histon in the late 19th century.

Other local apple varieties include the Huntingdon Codlin introduced in 1885 by Wood and Ingram nurserymen of Huntingdon, Green Harvey originating in Cambridgeshire in 1813, New Rock Pippin raised by William Pleasance in the Barnwell area of Cambridge in 1821, St Everard propagated by Papworth Everard Hall by the head gardener before 1900, and Lady Hollendale grown for the Wisbech fruit markets in the 1920-30s.

Natalie Leigh-Brown, Communities Lead for Alconbury Weald, said: “We’re delighted that Elizabeth Walk is now officially open and local families who joined our community day back in November can see how well the trees they planted are growing.

“The majority of the fruit trees in this woodland are expected to yield their first harvests in the next couple of years, so it won’t be long before the local community can enjoy a fantastic range of autumnal fruits on their doorstep.

“There will be a variety of eating and cooking fruit, and it’s important not to mix them up!  Wayfinding signage will help the community identify the different types of fruit, when they are best harvested and provide links to some great ideas for how they can be used.”