Wild Fruits of the green lanes

On the edge of Bishopstone is a grassy lane which we refer to as the Green Lane. More properly it is known as the Drove Road. It was probably once used to move animals from farm to farm and field to field. At this time of year it has the richest abundance of wild fruit of any place I know on the planet...

This afternoon Mabel, Nelson and I set off in search of fruity treasures to make some lovely treats for the winter months ahead.

Here's what we found.

Blackberries - probably the wild fruit that most people know. We make blackberry and apple jam most years from these. They are at their peak now. Loads of them in the hedges and quite a lot that have already gone over.



Elderberries - I've tried making wine with these and I wasn't very successful. I've had some fantastic wine made by others though - so it was probably my lack of experience. They are nice in a crumble too.



Sloes - another common fruit many people associate with Sloe Gin. Easy to make and delicious on a cold evening in front of an open log fire... Also makes a good jelly jam.



There are so many sloes this year I will be back for several more bags full as they last well on the bushes. We'll try Sloe Gin, Sloe Brandy, Sloe Whisky and probably a few other variations too!

Hawthorn Berries - these apparently have a good effect on the heart, lowering colesterol... but I don't know why.



They can be eaten raw but are not pleasant in my opinion. Made into a jelly they are delicious. Earlier this year I saw Ray Mears make sweets from them and this is what Huw and I intend to do this week. Apparently all you do is mash them with a little water having cleaned them first and press them through a sieve. The resultant gooey mess solidifies quickly and can be cut into chunks and dried to form natural fruity sweets. The way he did it made them look good. Lets see how they turn out.



I've never seen so many in the bushes as there are this year. Here's a bad full!

Wild Damsons - as per plums but smaller, and sloes but bigger! Very dry like sloes when eaten raw. Make delicious jam.



Crab Apples - tiny apples which are very tart. These make a wonderful jelly especially with a few sprigs of rosemary added. Here they are with some of the damsons. You can see the size of them from this. Consider that the damson are about a third the size of a plum. The lane has at least 30 crab apple trees I guess, so I may be back for more!



The green lane runs through Eastbrook Farm land, so no pesticides anywhere, just naturally growing and the whole lot as organic as you can get.