Stroud Apple Town launch

I promised Ben S. that I would come down to the stall close to the Farmers Market, where he was helping to launch Stroud Apple Town. Ben is also a town councillor and the council has supplied them with some start-up funding for the project.

A stall was set up outside the Stroud Valleys Project offering to press any supplied apples into juice on the spot, as well as providing tastes of many local varieties, a guess-the-weight of a huge apple and people to answer any questions. I tried several incredibly different tasting apples, including Stroud's very own Lodgemore Non-pareil, which was a quality dessert apple raised in 1808 by a Mr Cook of the Lodgemore area, which is not far from the centre of town.

The sun was shining, a cold wind was blowing and there seemed a generally happy atmosphere around the Market. I chatted with lots of friends and then walked back home.

What is Stroud Apple Town ? (from the leaflet)
Stroud has declared itself an Apple Town - where apples (and pears) will be all around us, with ribbons of trees giving patches of blossom and then fruit throughout the district. Over time we want to ...
* Encourage healthier and more active people in the local community through voluntary planting, tending, harvesting and consumption of apples.
* Celebrate and capitalise on Stroud's heritage relating to apples and pears - local varieties, local stories and local produce.
* Improve and make links between Stroud's urban and rural environment in terms of biodiversity, heritage, aesthetics, education, business and tourism.