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Welcome to Dartmouth Community Orchard. It sits between College Way (the main road into the town) and Ridge Hill / Mount Boone. The two orchard paddocks are linked by old woodland to form an unspoiled, rural area on the edge of Dartmouth. It is owned by the Town Council.

The paddocks contain approximately 150 apple trees of over 60 different varieties of traditional West Country apples, and the whole area is rich in biodiversity.

People come for quiet contemplation; to walk their dogs; to sit and admire the views over the Dart; or to watch the wildlife. They can enjoy the events held in spring to celebrate the reawakening of the orchard with its fine show of blossom and spring-time flowers, and in autumn to harvest the apples and make juice and cider.

History of the Orchard

1) A historic orchard dating back at least as far back as 1840 when it was recorded as an orchard in the 1840 Tithe Records. Tithe Map of Townstal, Coombe Area, 1840 Courtesy of DHRG 100130.

2) Recorded to be an orchard as part of the Raleigh Estate 1872. Deed of Arrangement between Sir JH Seale and JW Watts 8th April 1872, Courtesy of Mrs S Green, Raleigh Estates.

3) Orchard included in the grounds purchased from Raleigh estate in 1898 for the building of Britannia Royal Naval College under the Defence Act of 1842. Britannia Royal Naval College 1905-2005: A Century of Officer Training at Dartmouth. Published by Richard Webb, Dartmouth 2005. Authors Dr Jane Harrold and Dr Richard Porter. Map of BRNC, surveyed and drawn by S Blencowe, Superintendent Civil Engineer, 1905, Courtesy of Dr. Richard Porter.

4) Orchard separated from the rest of BRNC by the building of College Way 1969. Dartmouth Through Time, by Ginny Campbell, published by Amberley, Stroud, 2014.

5) Purchased from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by Dartmouth Town Council for £15,000 on 23 December 1993 on the basis that the permitted use of the Orchard is deemed to be an orchard designated as open space or gardens. Land Registry Title Number DN338846 and Transfer dated 23 December 1993 made between (1) The Secretary of State for Defence and (2) Dartmouth Town Council.

6) Registered as a village green under the Commons act 2006 section15(8) on 2nd November 2021.

Arial view of the orchard

Map of the orchard

Spring Update 2025

We trust you are all enjoying seeing the primroses and daffodils, giving us hope that spring and warmer drier weather are close.
The work parties have continued to be busy, pruning some of the trees (including one large older tree that was blown down in a storm) and also still reducing the heliotrope. If you have visited the Orchard you might have noticed some of the ‘prunings’ added to various wood piles for wildlife habitat.

We were also very grateful for the assistance from BRNC cadets who came to help and reduced our ‘to do’ list.
There has now been an additional ‘dog poo bin’ installed at the College Way entrance so there is no excuse!!!

The new pathway, installed to make the Orchard more accessible for less mobile visitors has received some very positive feedback. More of the pathways are due for improvement, and it is hoped that this will happen from the end of February. Notices will be erected warning of any works whilst this is in progress. The paths are to be improved to match the new pathway off College Way. This is to remedy trip and fall hazards where the original pathway has worn and will become dangerous if not repaired.
The fencing round one of the ponds is also due to be installed soon. This should deter dogs from entering the water, as any flea treatment causes significant harm to the pondlife. It is also the time of year when frogs, toads and newts need to access the water to spawn. Hopefully you might see some frogspawn or tadpoles in the near future.
The bees are still quite quiet as the weather has not enticed them out much. Too wet and cold. I think we can sympathise/empathise with them !
We are hoping to hold a spring social event in the orchard; coffee and cake, so do look out for further information. It is hoped that this will take place around 11.00am after the last work party on 6 April. Everyone is welcome to come to the Ridge Hill entrance to join us for this friendly gathering.

The FODCO AGM will take place in Dartmouth Yacht Club, at 6.00 on Wednesday 30 April. All are welcome.

Kind regards
Lee Thorneywork (Secretary) March 2025

Autumn Update 2024

Autumn is already in the air and you will have seen that work on the accessible pathway has started in the Western Paddock.
The actual path will eventually be just 1.5 meters wide just in case you are wondering.

A few summer work parties dealt with the overgrowth under the apple trees and some tree propping so we can now look forward to autumn/winter works. These will be on Sunday mornings from 10.00 to 12.00 ish, which seems to be the most popular time. The dates are:

3rd Nov
24th Nov
15th Dec
12th Jan
9th Feb
9th Mar
6th Apr

If you want to join a work party, please let us know. You’ll be made very welcome.

Julie Downing September 2024

Summer Update 2024

Although this is usually a quieter time of the year there is plenty going on in the background and the new committee have now met so here’s a bit of an update:

We are pleased to have co-opted Juliet Mason-Jones to committee. you may have met her at various events and work parties getting stuck in already.

Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our application for a grant from Dartmouth Town Council to professionally refurbish/repair the paths, we are pleased to announce however that DTC are going ahead with Phase 1. They will appoint a contractor to do the work, hopefully for the Autumn and before the bad weather sets in. Unspent funds from the grant we received in 2023 (to provide power in the sub-station) are being returned to the Council. They will then top this up and manage the whole thing from start to finish. Phase I is in the Western Paddock and covers the loop closest to the Fire Station. This work will include an accessible path (for wheelchairs/pushchairs etc) from the College Way entrance. It continues our stated aim of access for all whilst still preserving the natural beauty of the area. DTC will also be dealing with any trip hazards on the paths elsewhere soon.

We plan to refurbish/replace the old noticeboard on the College Way side which will be relocated after the path works are complete. DTC are prioritising sorting out any wobbly benches as well – safety comes first!

Sadly we were unsuccessful in our grant application (to the National Garden Scheme) for a honey spinner and will be borrowing kit to do the job again this year. Those of you who have followed our Bees story will be pleased to hear that we have a new hive (to replace the failing poly hive that was donated to us a while ago). Due to the hard work of Pamela Nicholson and Janie Harford this was achieved at minimal cost and the challenge of establishing a new colony in that hive continues….watch this space. The other hive is doing well and we are just praying that those pesky Asian Hornets don’t get a foothold in our area. Please familiarise yourself with the photos in the Ridge Hill noticeboard. If they are spotted we may be able to prevent the spread of this invasive species.

The shallow ponds, which were completed at the end of the winter, will soon have pond plants in them to increase biodiversity even more.

If you have walked in the orchard recently, you will appreciate what is meant by a ‘super growth’ season as everything has definitely taken off this year. We are still keen to avoid strimming, except for the work that the grounds team do to keep the path edges clear, but it is apparent that some trees are becoming engulfed. So there will be a summer work party soon to clear the bases of the trees. Also a few trees need more supports to be able to carry their load when they fruit. If you want to be involved and aren’t on our list yet please let Julie know so your name can be added.

Julie Downing June 2024

Spring Update 2024

The working party season is over as spring arrives – we don’t want to interfere with flowering and breeding etc.

We’ve done a lot – cleared round the sub-station to help with the new electricity supply, pruned lots of trees, planted five new ones, improved the ponds we created last winter, and cleared some scrub. Now it's time to enjoy the blossom and wildlife, if the weather allows!

The Council team have done their bit too – a new picnic bench and steps to access the beehives. Some path improvement is on the way to being sorted as well. Thanks to all the stalwarts who’ve turned up and got stuck in.

We will be telling the full story of all that we’ve done at the AGM on Wednesday, 1st May – 5.00 pm at the Dartmouth Yacht Club.
Peter & Julie April 2024

Winter Update 2023/4

The old electricity sub-station which now serves as a store room near the Ridge Hill entrance, has been given a serious upgrade thanks to a grant from Dartmouth Town Council and the brilliant work of Friend, Pete Forey. Solar panels with battery storage have been installed to give light and power. This means we can run our electric mill at apple pressing time, see what we’re doing during dark afternoons and even boil up some water for a cuppa or two!

Our town’s grounds team did a great job getting the winter cut done before Christmas. The spring flowers need the grass to be short so they can get the light before it grows back and shades them out.

Take a walk round and see the contrast.There are signs of life in the Orchard despite the winter cold - the first primroses are out already!

Town Groundsman Matt, along with donors Ricky and Dave and Friends chairman Peter, planted five new trees - all old Devon or Cornish varieties. They got an extra watering the following Sunday when a dozen Friends turned out on a lovely morning to do some work in the orchard. We continued working on the ponds and got stuck into some tree pruning. More people are going on the Orchard Link pruning course later in the month so that our core group of pruners will be expanded. With 150+ trees, there’s plenty to do!

Looking forward, we marked out a few steps to make the Butterfly Transect safer and checked out what needs to be done in the area nearest the Fire Station, so that we’re ready to go on the next Working Party!
Peter & Julie Jan 2024