...in which we celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in one of the north country’s foremost orchards.

Striding out from the Georgian facade of the National Trust’s Acorn Bank in the company of Ruth Cassell (Gardens & Landscape Manager for Lakes and Eden Portfolio) and Bronwyn Thomas (Garden Supervisor at Acorn Bank), we’re introduced to our heroine of the podcast – Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, the Yorkshire-born author, traveller and woman of means, who bought the property in 1934 and began planting apple trees.

Arriving in Dorothy’s walled orchard, we learn about the journey of the humble apple, from the mountain forests of Kazakhstan, by way of the Silk Road and expanding Roman empire, to the gardens and orchards of landed Cumbria, including Lowther Castle and Holker Hall.

Walking among the laden boughs of Acorn Bank’s 175+ heritage apple varieties, the waters of Crowdundle Beck bubbling in the background, we consider the establishment of this nationally important collection through a collaborative lineage of gardeners and apple enthusiasts, and about the science (and accidents) of apple cultivation – of grafting, root stocks and pollination.

In the house’s drawing room – now joined by Margaret Hoyes (Gardener at Sizergh) – we embark on a heritage apple taste test, focussing on local varieties like the Keswick Codlin (actually from Ulverston), Nelson's Favourite (not that Nelson), the Duke of Devonshire (not that Duke of Devonshire), Lord Lambourne and super-local Maulds Meaburn, before noting the Hallowe’en-horror origin story of the Bloody Ploughman.

Reflecting on the nation’s favourite fruit – and learning the chemical difference between eaters and cookers, the importance of an open canopy and how best to pick an apple – we consider both the vulnerability of heritage varieties and their increasing importance in a fragile food system during an era of changing climate and seasons.

• Acorn Bank comprises ornamental gardens, 180 acres of parkland and woodland, a café and historic working watermill. The property closes for the winter in November and reopens in February ready for half term. For more information see here.

• You can learn more about Cumbria’s orchards from the North Cumbria Orchard Group and South Lakeland Orchard Group.

• A reminder that on Friday next week (6 Nov), we host our first Countrystride Live event of the autumn at Rheged – ‘Are Our National Parks Broken?’ with Julian Glover, Tiffany Hunt, Tim Farron MP and Rose O’Neill, where we’ll ask why interest in our protected landscapes has waned in Westminster – even as visitor pressures mount – and what a renewed vision for world-leading protected landscapes might look like. With plenty of chance to ask questions, and exclusive access to the Forty Fells exhibition, tickets can be purchased here: https://rheged.com/event/countrystride-live-are-our-national-parks-broken/