Apple festivals????? Must be a Southern English thing. I suspect Cat is in
a similar position to those of us in Scotland - despite the fact that
Edinburgh is on my doorstep, there is nowhere that stocks more than 5 or
varieties of spindly pot grown specimens. I have found up here that if
you're at all choosy, mail order from the South is the only answer.

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Best Regards,

Rick

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote
I would like to plant a couple of apple trees in the garden. I already
have a lovely crab-apple, planted two years ago, which is doing well -
though the flowers dropped this spring/early summer, so no fruit.

I would like good eating apples, crunchy, sweet and with a nice tangy
bite in them. The obvious one is Cox Pippin, but I am wondering if
anyone has any idea of other good varieties, preferably old British
Isle varieties?

Cox's Orange Pippin is not a variety for the home gardener, it is
susceptible to all the apple diseases and needs constant spraying etc to
give a decent crop which is why I've never seen one do well in a garden.
There are other much better varieties for the home gardener and any
decent supplier will guide you to them, indeed if you can get to Wisley
for the Apple Festival later this month you will be able to walk round
the trees and see what does well, although they do use a lot of
commercial orchard type chemicals that we can't buy. There may well be
somewhere nearer.

Bob has the answer when he says to try to find a local supplier, different
varieties for different areas. I live in North Staffordshire and found a
supplier locally near Nantwich, his advice was sound. I had never heard
of the varieties until I went to see him. It is now around the time of
Apple festivals, look out for local ones, go along and you should even be
able to taste the apples. A Google search turned up a number of possibles
in Ireland.