An Apple Fell

He wondered why an apple always descended perpendicularly to the ground. Why did it not go sideways or upwards, but constantly to the earth’s centre.

Today we halted our journey south at Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire, the birthplace of Isaac Newton and where he watched an apple fall. What a great place it is. Very nicely laid out, lots of information . . . and The Apple Tree.

Well sort of anyway. After Newton’s death the tree acquired a local reputation and people would make the pilgrimage to the Manor House and to see the tree in the orchard. In 1820 the tree blew down after a storm. Snuff boxes and trinkets were made from the broken wood, but fortunately the tree remained rooted and re-grew strongly - that’s the tree there now and in the picture. It had lots of apples too.