To Mosser, for a blustery yet beautiful early blossom day!

Still half a week left in April but we needed to catch the blossom before the wind and spring showers did. A lovely and memorable day.

Late in spring, after several long bright days, Katy and Keswick Codlin were at their most prolific and petals were already twirling down from many trees. A good number of NCOG members made the journey up the fell in Mosser to visit Mark's unique and beautiful orchard for a tour, tutorials on tool maintenance and the opportunity to eat a month's worth of cake in a day!

North Cumbria Orchard Group gathered on the terrace at High Mosser Gate, where there was soup to warm your hands around with many thanks to Alison Evens, enough cake for a mad hatter's tea party thanks to the baking skills of various members, and a long sunlit view on to the northward hills.

Mark Evens led an informative walk around his juice and cider orchard, where there was some discussion of how not to grow trees, on which, owing to perseverance and experimentation, he has become something of an authority! Further wisdom was shared on how to get yellow rattle to thrive, the taste, storage and decorative advantages of various apple varieties, including Tom Putt and Lord Lambourne, not to mention memories relating to why mistletoe both looks beautiful and belongs in apple trees.

Chris Braithwaite was to hand on the terrace where he offered guidance on how to maintain tools, and many people left with much sharper and cleaner secateurs.

For those who wished, a tour of the cider barn was offered, where the importance of cleanliness was stressed, and there was certainly an education on the potentially lethal propensities of yeast in the wrong hands! Proof was offered that Ashmead's Kernel stays sweet for half a year when kept right.

To round off an afternoon that has become a highlight of late spring, NCOG members were encouraged to try every single one of at least a dozen cakes! The excuse for eating so much was of course that we needed to determine a winner in the best cake competition, and Sara Braithwaite's flavoursome rhubarb and almond cake stole the show.