I’m just about to begin a data refresh of our local traditional orchard database. My original work was in 2012 as a contribution to the England and Wales survey that collected a massive amount of data about surviving orchards. For ~Swansea and Gower, that original data is now outdated and in need of revision. This is particularly significant for the Gower National Landscape (formerly the AONB).
Back in 2012, it was a hot summer, and I remember walking North Gower roads and lanes, ground-truthing previously identified potential survivals from satellite photos. It will be interesting to see what has changed. Originally, the oldest trees I saw in my surveys were culinary or cooking varieties, as in previous centuries, most apples were cooked in various forms in cakes, puddings, pies, pasties, and even soups. I saw dessert varieties start to appear as transport links to bigger markets became easier. The orchards of Northern Gower seem to have their origins in the arrival of the railway, allowing trouble-free transport to Llanelli and Swansea.
Although some academics have suggested that it is very rare to see apple trees older than a hundred years, I felt this may need correction, as I have seen some trees that, because of their location and size, are older than assumed. Much of Glamorgan’s apple industry was irreversibly damaged by massive imports of cheap Canadian apples via Cardiff and Swansea in the 1920s. The industry never recovered. In more recent decades, I see younger trees of dessert apples as people want to plant something easily consumed, and the recipes and practices of handling cooking apples have fallen out of fashion.
Equally, a new generation of consumers equate apples to cider, and I’d expect to see some ambitious investment in recently planted trees for juicing and cider. However, the data I collect will confirm the picture.
Nigel Robins 