The National Fruit Collection – Open for visits from Easter Friday
In 1952 The National Fruit Collection moved to Brogdale, Faversham and over 60 years on it is still going strong. Despite the threat of moving the collection just 7 years ago the foundations are now being laid for a very fruitful future indeed.
Brogdale Collections was formed in 2006 at Brogdale as a Charity whose aim was simple; keep the collection open to the public. Over the last 6 years the offer to visitors has been developing and from April through to October the collections are open everyday for guided tours and self-guided walks.
It is an ongoing effort to improve visitor access and develop interesting and creative ways to interpret the collection. Three annual fruit festivals are now firm standing events and are growing each year in momentum. Additional to these festivals are a selection of events and feature days to ensure that Brogdale offer a packed schedule for the whole season.
The National Fruit Collection is now not only an international scientific collection of fruit varieties, imperative to conserve genetic diversity for breeding future varieties but a significant and unique learning resource for the general public, horticulturalists and schools.
Holding over 4000 different varieties of twelve major temperate fruits, it is the worlds largest collection and includes, 2000 varieties of apples, 520 pear, 320 plums, 320 cherries and smaller collections of grapes, apricots, quinces, medlars, gooseberries, and black, red, white and pink currents.
Brogdale is certainly growing as a destination and are offering new and exciting reasons to visit in 2013 www.brogdalecollections.co.uk
2013 Festivals & Events
Strawberry Fayre
Cherry Festival
Plum Day
Cider Festival
Rural Cooking Day
Apple Festival
