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The Tree Register of the British Isles has joined the chorus of conservation charities singing the praises of Coton Orchard, near Cambridge, and the mosaic of habitats it encompasses. The orchard is home to a cornucopia of nationally rare and scarce wildlife and is designated a UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Habitat.
Earlier this week, tree registrar David Alderman visited Coton Orchard to measure the trunks of 12 of the oldest Bramley trees. He was ecstatic to find that one of them measured a whopping 2.44m circumference. “This makes it not only the biggest Bramley tree in the county but also the second largest Bramley apple tree that we’ve ever recorded in the whole of Britain and Ireland,” said David. He even went out on a limb to say “it could be the largest once we’ve re-checked our records”. Whilst in Coton Orchard David noticed the sizeable Grey alders (Alnus incana) in the hedgerows. The “largest Grey alder in Cambridgeshire, was at Cambridge Botanic Garden but it died in 2004. There are no obvious candidates for a successor so Coton Orchard may be home to more than one “Champion Tree”. “Champion Trees” are individual trees which are exceptional examples of their species because of their enormous size, great age, rarity or historical significance” Alderman explained.
“The Tree Register works in partnership with the Woodland Trust and the Ancient Tree Inventory” writes David Alderman, Dir TTR, so for some time we have been aware that Coton Orchard is home to many veteran and notable trees with potential “Champion Trees” which we are specifically interested in recording. Although Woodland Trust have conducted their own site survey in relation to the busway route, none of Coton Orchard’s trees have been officially measured or recorded for the Tree Register, which maintains a database of over 200,000 of the UK’s most special trees.
David Alderman joins Jack Taylor in rooting for the campaign to save Coton orchard with its fruit trees, scrub, hedgerows, hedgerow trees, non-fruit trees and unique orchard floor habitats and fallen dead wood. According to Taylor, the lead campaigner at the Woodland Trust: “traditional orchards, particularly those containing older trees with significant deadwood features, are of great importance and should also be protected from harm where possible. Identifying alternatives to the removal of a significant number of trees within Coton Orchard must be explored in full”.
And the National Trust is barking up the same tree in expressing its “concerns with the new public transport infrastructure that’s being proposed between Cambourne and Cambridge. We understand and support the need for public transport infrastructure that will improve journey times and reduce congestion for local residents. However, the new route would have an adverse impact on a valued landscape, which has intrinsic visual, natural, historic and cultural significance, and is fundamental to preserving the setting and special character of the historic city of Cambridge and the priority habitat at Coton Orchard. The National Trust has an interest in the scheme, due to covenants over land in the parish of Coton.”