Want to get involved in orchard care and cider making in the South West?

Orchards SouthWest, a new network to connect non-commercial orchard groups and owners, will have its inaugural meeting on Friday 31 May at 11.00 in the Ray Williams Marquee, adjacent to the Orchards & Cider Marquee at this years Bath and West show.

The groups aim it to provide information for fruit growers in the south west of England.

Membership is free. Orchards SouthWest will link up all the local orchard groups in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset & Bristol, Dorset and Wiltshire and will offer opportunities to share events, trading, equipment hire, training and knowledge sharing through a dedicated website. The site will help orcharding organisations in the South West by listing them all in one place and will offer a forum for news and discussion.

The meeting will take place on the same day as that of the Norton Cider Growers’, which is for commercial orchard owners. The backdrop will be a thrilling lineup of orchard equipment and machinery, polished and shiny and looking its best for the 150th Anniversary of the Bath and West show.