How to create a new village orchard
Kingston Lisle is a pretty Oxfordshire village just off the Ridgeway in the Vale of White Horse district. It’s home to around 250 people, two racing stables, an inn, a village hall, a playground and a cemetery. What it was missing, until recently, was a village orchard.
There has been a long tradition of orchards in rural villages and towns. The trees provide food for local people but are also high value spots for biodiversity, often supporting a huge variety of insects, pollinators, birds and other wildlife.
According to the Woodland Trust, there has been a significant drop in the number of orchards in the UK since the 1950s as the country moved away from small-scale fruit farming. However new orchards are now being planted – including in our districts.
In the summer of 2024, Fiona Browne, chair of Kingston Lisle Parish Council spotted an offer of free trees from Oxfordshire County Council: “I’m not one to turn down a free offer and the council said that in addition to giving us the trees they could help with preparing the ground and planting. The deal was that the community would then look after the trees once planted.”
The parish council consulted the villagers and the site they chose was an open green space next to existing allotments and houses. They contacted the owners of the land, Vale of White Horse District Council, and sought permission to plant the trees with the support of their local district councillor through a licence scheme.
In March 2025, the county council tree team planted 16 fruit trees on the site, including apples (cooking and eating varieties), pears, plums, damsons, quince and apricots.
Lacking a water source at the site, keeping the young trees watered during the very dry summer of 2025 proved quite a challenge. Fiona regularly transported water in her car to ensure they would survive.
Fiona added: “It is satisfying to see the trees all still alive a year on and makes the effort of watering them worthwhile. It is a popular spot for dog walking, and I am sure people will enjoy picking the fruit when it comes. It’s especially nice as not everyone in the village has space in their garden for fruit trees. We are looking forward to our first harvest in late summer.”
If you are inspired to plant an orchard, then please see the following information:
For free trees and help planting – please see information on Oxfordshire County Council’s Community Tree and Woodland Opportunity Project
If you’re part of a parish council or community group and you want to plant on council land please see our new nature recovery on council land (LINK)
If you would like funding to buy trees or land for a community planting project like this please see our grants page
Contact us - Climate and biodiversity team
Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE
