There are three acres of land to roam with beautiful views, sweet smelling flowers and apples a plenty, but not enough people are paying a visit. Dartmouth Community Orchard is perched on the hillside over looking the Royal Naval College. The hidden gem is home to 130 apple trees and a whole host of animals including the greater horseshoe bat. Steph Woolvin went for stomp with chairman Peter Shaw…


and quiet. It’s only a short walk up Ridge Hill but it feels miles from the hustle and bustle of the town. The site has been an orchard since at least 1840 and originally belonged to the Naval College. Back then it was a connected part of the college grounds as there was no College Way; the road was built in the 1970s and split the estate in two. In 1993 the MOD decided to sell it to the Town Council for a mere £15,000 pounds. To discourage development the MoD insisted on a covenant saying if any houses were built the MOD would take a huge cut. “25 years later, the orchard still stands strong. There was talk of a housing project last year but it met such strong resistance I don’t think any proposals will happen again anytime soon,” says chairman Peter Shaw who is determined to keep the orchard open to all. “It was declared a ‘community asset’ in 2016 - that gives it some protection from development but the Friends of the Orchard are working to get it


T


he first thing you notice when you get through the big wooden gates is the peace


labelled as an official ‘green space’ on the Neighborhood Plan.” The Town Council is responsible


for securing the paths and making sure the trees are safe but it’s the Friends who tend to the site on a day-to-day basis. The group was formed in 2014 and has some 160 members with differing levels of participation. “Some roll up their sleeves and regularly prune trees, others come along to various working days and social events. Our committee has several aims.


“The space can be used by anyone at anytime.”


We want to conserve and enhance the orchard as a green community space, encouraging people to use it for quiet recreation and education. We want to ensure it’s kept safe and litter free. We also spend a lot of time looking after the wildlife.” This final element is close to Peter’s heart. He grew up on the edge of a market town in Yorkshire and dur- ing the school holidays worked on a local farm. “I can’t actually remem-


ber a time when I wasn’t interested in wildlife. I could name all the birds in the trees from a really young age. I used to collect nettles with caterpillars on and watch them grow into butterflies.” There are bird and bat boxes in the orchard with 10 different types of bat sighted including the rare greater horse- shoe. “Most of the animals here are nocturnal, unfortunately, so we don’t see many! Plenty of owls visit to scoop up the voles, wood mice and toads. We also have foxes and badgers who forage for the fallen apples.” Daytime visitors include birds, butterflies, soldier beetles and bees. There are 130 trees in the orchard


and every one is mapped and numbered. There are at least 50 varieties of apple including eaters, cider and cooking. The space can be used by anyone at anytime; for picnics, dog walking or quiet


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