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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/apr/24/national-trust-farne-islands-st-cuthbert-grace-darling-allotments
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| Are these England's oddest allotments? | Are these England's oddest allotments? |
| (4 months later) | |
| Is the north of England on safe ground in claiming to have England's remotest allotment? This Guardian Northerner post is a way of finding out. | Is the north of England on safe ground in claiming to have England's remotest allotment? This Guardian Northerner post is a way of finding out. |
| Can there be any further away from everyone except its cultivators than the walled plots on the islands of Brownsman and Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland? | Can there be any further away from everyone except its cultivators than the walled plots on the islands of Brownsman and Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland? |
| These are no ordinary allotments in any sense. St Cuthbert had his oratory here and must have grown vegetables because he famously enacted one of the world's first bird protection regimes on the Farnes in 676AD. Absolute certainty over anything from that period is unattainable; but the legend is so powerful that the slang for the eider ducks which nest on the islands in profusion is still 'Cuddy ducks'. | These are no ordinary allotments in any sense. St Cuthbert had his oratory here and must have grown vegetables because he famously enacted one of the world's first bird protection regimes on the Farnes in 676AD. Absolute certainty over anything from that period is unattainable; but the legend is so powerful that the slang for the eider ducks which nest on the islands in profusion is still 'Cuddy ducks'. |
| Then came the Darlings, lighthouse-keepers on Brownsman in the early nineteenth century and tenants of the cottage beside the garden plots. Their famous daughter Grace was here until she was 11. She must surely have helped with easy-to-grow items such as lettuce, spuds or carrots, or even just mustard and cress. | Then came the Darlings, lighthouse-keepers on Brownsman in the early nineteenth century and tenants of the cottage beside the garden plots. Their famous daughter Grace was here until she was 11. She must surely have helped with easy-to-grow items such as lettuce, spuds or carrots, or even just mustard and cress. |
| Anyway, the allotments are now to return to production for the first time since they were abandoned by the last resident lighthouse keepers in 1909, which is the other reason for this piece. The National Trust has assembled a team of organic gardeners from Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire, whose own allotment is guarded by a scarecrow which my wife and I named 'Simon Jenkins' last year in a visitors' competition, in case the Northerner's distinguished (and actually most unscarecrow-like) colleague came by on a spot check, in his role as chairs of the Trust. | Anyway, the allotments are now to return to production for the first time since they were abandoned by the last resident lighthouse keepers in 1909, which is the other reason for this piece. The National Trust has assembled a team of organic gardeners from Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire, whose own allotment is guarded by a scarecrow which my wife and I named 'Simon Jenkins' last year in a visitors' competition, in case the Northerner's distinguished (and actually most unscarecrow-like) colleague came by on a spot check, in his role as chairs of the Trust. |
| They will spend four days next week on the Farnes, planting dwarf apple trees, blackberries, rhubarb, potatoes and onions as well as installing a water butt and building a compost bin. The produce will feed the team of nine trust rangers who keep an eye on the little archipelago between March and December. | They will spend four days next week on the Farnes, planting dwarf apple trees, blackberries, rhubarb, potatoes and onions as well as installing a water butt and building a compost bin. The produce will feed the team of nine trust rangers who keep an eye on the little archipelago between March and December. |
| David Steel, the Farnes head ranger, says: | David Steel, the Farnes head ranger, says: |
| Life on the Farne Islands can be quite a challenge at times. Our nearest shop is a boat ride away and the weather often limits when we can make trips to the mainland. To be able to open the door and pick fresh produce when we need it is a fantastic prospect. | Life on the Farne Islands can be quite a challenge at times. Our nearest shop is a boat ride away and the weather often limits when we can make trips to the mainland. To be able to open the door and pick fresh produce when we need it is a fantastic prospect. |
Nunnington's head gardener Nick Fraser who will lead the planting team, says: | Nunnington's head gardener Nick Fraser who will lead the planting team, says: |
| We had to choose carefully when deciding what to plant on the Farnes. Before we made the decision we tested the soil, researched what grows well in sea air and worked out what would best withstand the extreme weather the Rangers can experience on the islands. This is a test year, however. We need to see how things survive and which plants cope with the conditions. We plan to come back every year for a day or two to make improvements and it will be a number of years before the garden established. | We had to choose carefully when deciding what to plant on the Farnes. Before we made the decision we tested the soil, researched what grows well in sea air and worked out what would best withstand the extreme weather the Rangers can experience on the islands. This is a test year, however. We need to see how things survive and which plants cope with the conditions. We plan to come back every year for a day or two to make improvements and it will be a number of years before the garden established. |
Then it's over to the rangers. David Steel says: | Then it's over to the rangers. David Steel says: |
| None of the Rangers are gardening experts so it's very much going to be a learning curve for us all. We're up for the challenge, especially when the reward is our own homegrown food | None of the Rangers are gardening experts so it's very much going to be a learning curve for us all. We're up for the challenge, especially when the reward is our own homegrown food |
| . | . |
| You can read Steel's blog here and follow him on Twitter at @NTSteely Details of visiting the Farnes are here and here, above, is a delightful cartoon film about Grace Darling which Peel Hall primary school's Year 2 has made and posted on YouTube. They're in Salford and their Ofsted inspectors said they would "particularly remember" the film. Attention BBC... | You can read Steel's blog here and follow him on Twitter at @NTSteely Details of visiting the Farnes are here and here, above, is a delightful cartoon film about Grace Darling which Peel Hall primary school's Year 2 has made and posted on YouTube. They're in Salford and their Ofsted inspectors said they would "particularly remember" the film. Attention BBC... |
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