Following our lovely evening at the BS13 Flower Farm in Hartcliffe last month, this is our final outing of the Summer before we return to the Tobacco Factory. We will be visiting a unique heritage apple orchard in Abbots Leigh, near Ashton Court. This is being rewilded and carefully restored by owners Chris and Jane to provide British cider apples for cider making by Ed of Branch Cider, Bristol. Chris will walk us through the orchard explaining what they are doing to encourage bats, birds, and wildlife generally while selectively replanting wood apple varieties. Chris and Ed are also involved in a project to restore and maintain one hundred orchards around the West Country. Ed will then take us through the process of making cider from the raw apple juice and show us around the Cidery. Finishing with a tasting of Branch Cider’s range and a chance to buy some to take home (NB Cash only!) As there is limited parking at the Orchard we need to arrange lift sharing. If you indeed to come along, please can you email us at wearemalago@gmail.com and let us know if you need or are able to provide a lift, by Monday 25th August. Please arrive by 6.45pm for a 7pm start. We will aim to finish at 8.30pm To get to Branch Cider, head out of Bristol on A369 up Rownham Hill, which turns into Abbots Leigh Road. At the George Pub turn left onto Manor Road and continue along this windy road - you will see the apple orchard on your right. Keep going until you see Chris & Jane’s new house (BS8 3RS) which is the only one with this postcode. Or W3w: castle.poetic.towerParking will be through the gates by the house. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 27th.
We had a lovely meeting in June, hearing from Mark Chapman, about his highly successful COR in Southville and have recently opened the highly acclaimed RAGU in Wapping Wharf. On Wednesday 30th July, we will be heading out for a visit to Heart of BS13 Flower Farm, a social enterprise and charity creating and inspiring change in Hartcliffe and Withywood. The charity plays an active role supporting the local community with food insecurity via a community freezer and kitchen; advocating for climate action; and growing celebration and sympathy flowers in line with their ethos of sustainability and soil health. They offer education initiatives and outreach work to promote their message and to increase awareness of the changes we can all make everyday to safeguard the future of our planet. Their priority is firmly rooted in the community with their long-term strategy to eventually reduce organisational reliance on grants, as well as to offer high quality opportunities for people in BS13 to develop vocational skills and find jobs. They have three enterprise streams that align with their work programmes. The Flower Farm supports vocational training and jobs in horticulture. The Climate Action Hub offers a range of climate and environmental opportunities, specifically aimed towards young people and supporting them to consider jobs and education in the green economy. The Kitchen, produces a range of high-quality meals that are sold in retail outlets across the city of Bristol to financially support the Heart of BS13 Community Freezer. We will meet with Sol Harmsworth, the Horticulture Program Manager for a tour and a talk. Please note that we will be meeting at the earlier time of 6:45pm for a 7pm start. There is limited parking, so we suggest car sharing to reduce our impact on the farm during our visit. If you haven't already arranged a lift with someone or you can offer a lift, please let us email:wearemalagowi@gmail.com and we will endeavour to put you in touch with each other. The flower farm is not usually open in the evening so we will have to go to the back gate to access the flower farm. There will be a sign by the flower farm gate. The address is: Heart of BS13 flower farm - (the metal gate at end of the road)Court Farm Rd, Bristol BS14 0DF - anyone with accessibility needs can park on site (there are about 3 spaces on site) Please can you park a little further up the road, near the John Harvey arms, so the residents get to park by their houses. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 30th.
