Hampshire Fare, sponsored by Hampshire County Council, promotes local food producers in the county. They have looked at the heritage of food production in the county including orchard fruit and have produced a summary of their survey called Hampshire's Food Heritage. "Hampshire was never a major county for orchard fruit. There were some towards Southampton and the New Forest. The Wealden district of Hampshire, round Alton, was reported to have extensive orchards in the mid-nineteenth century, Much of the produce was used for making cider. The Blackmoor estate at Selborne since at least the 1920s has built up an extensive orchard, mainly for apples. In 1934 there were about fifty varieties of apple, and the estate continues to produce many varieties of apple that are now rarely grown elsewhere". In their research into the Hampshire Hog they found that "feeding on windfalls in local orchards helped to explain the quality of the bacon". Hampshire Fare have produced a new guide to food, drink and craft producers. Find out more about this and read the full summary of the Food Heritage survey at www.hampshirefare.co.uk or call 01962 845999.

The Hampshire Federation of Horticultural Societies helped to establish a historic apple collection of 18 Hampshire cultivars bred and cultivated in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, at Sparsholt College in 1984.

Apple Day Events
Orchards and Community Orchards to visit
Where to buy apples and orchard produce
Where to buy fruit trees
Some Hampshire Fruit