Push your tongue against your top molars, smile, and then breathe out through the sides of your mouth. You’ll make a snake-hiss sort of sound, which is the sound of LL in Cymraeg (Welsh). Let’s call it “thii.”
Now say this sound out loud here: Poppit coid er ber-thii-an.
Da iawn (well done). That’s how to pronounce the Poppit Coed y Berllan apple tree (below in blossom) – one of five unique apple varieties that were found growing on the edge of Poppit Sands beach in Ceredigion. They probably grew from apple cores thrown away by holidaying beach-goers. Somehow, they thrived in the salty, sandy soil there.
Pop down the road two miles and you’ll reach St Dogmael’s, the home of an old Abbey. The Trion monks there planted a LOT of cider apples and produced a LOT of cider. So much so that the Bishop of nearby St David’s had to discipline them for focusing too much on cider-drinking and not enough on worshipping.
Thanks to local apple (afal in Welsh) enthusiasts and community groups, varieties like Poppit Coed y Berllan, Pen Caled and Pig Aderyn have been saved, and are now being propagated by tree nurseries across Wales.
Like the rest of Britain, Wales has a rich, varied and proud apple history, with many stories now being rediscovered. Perhaps a quieter heritage than England’s, but just as rich.
Monmouthshire in the South-East of Wales, bordering England’s apple counties of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, boasts the most varieties, and perhaps the strongest commercial apple heritage. But the whole nation is bursting with apples.
From the Gelli Aur (“Ge-thii Hour”) in Carmarthenshire, to the Bardsey Island off the Llyn peninsula, to the Kretchmer’s Surprise, deep in Powys, there are varieties of cooking apples, cider apples and eating apples all over.
In 2018, after several years of hard graft, a group of apple enthusiasts, led by the Welsh Perry & Cider Society, developed a National Register of Welsh Apple Varieties (also known as a “Welsh Pomona”) as part of a Heritage Lottery funded project.
It’s the first official record of the Welsh apple varieties (known so far). They identified 64 varieties (29 make the official list and 35 are under review). I suspect it’s just a start.
My own orchard enthusiasm started in a garden, burgeoned whilst WWOOFing at an apple tree nursery, and then blossomed like a perfect springtime whilst working at the ever-remarkable The Orchard Project. Jump forward a few years and that enthusiasm (and learning) has continued to grow and grow, much like the vigorous Bardsey apple.
I now live in Pembrokeshire with my wife, and we run Tyn y Berllan – a fruit tree nursery* specialising in Welsh-grown apples and pears, including a huge collection from that Welsh Pomona.
It’s not something I’d have predicted a decade back, but it’s certainly an honour (as well as a joy) to help ensure that these wonderful varieties, and this special Welsh apple culture, not only survive, but thrive across Wales and beyond. Selling online via mail order, we find ourselves sending trees to Scotland and England, as well as all-over Cymru, spreading the heritage across Britain.
Frongoch Pawl, Afal y Cwmafan, Brith Mawr, Gabalfa, Pig Yr Wydd, Poppit Swn y Mor, Twyn y Sherrif, and so it goes on. If you’re thinking of adding trees to your own orchard, maybe really go for some diversity and add a Welsh variety or two to the mix?
Iechyd da (“yacky dar”) – Cheers!
by Neil Kingsnorth, Tyn y Berllan fruit tree nursery
* unfortunately the nursery has just sold out of bare root trees and is now closed for the season, but will be open again in July for orders for next winter. In the meantime, feel free to explore their website and start making your wish list!
P.S. from Neil: Should any eagle-eyed readers notice that our nursery tree lanes are not mulched in the photo – I know. We’re on it. This photo was taken during a mass-planting phase, but every lane will have compost and woodchip mulch added and will then be dosed with a lovely mix of organic goodness throughout the year!