Enormous Apple Tree overhangs part of York City Walls - any info please?

PickledOnion

Hi. Many years ago we went to York and while walking the city walls discovered an enormous apple tree laden with red apples which overhung the walkway on top of the wall.  I have been looking now and again ever since with no success to find any information about it on the web.  We could not reach any apples at the time but there were hundreds and it was a magnificent sight!

Does anyone know what variety it is? or any other information about it?
Would I be able to take a cutting to use as a graft when we are planning to visit again next spring? (don't want to do anything i am not allowed to)
and most importantly, has anyone tasted one of these apples? what was it like?

thank you!

pansyface

No idea but these people would most likely know.

http://www.edibleyork.org.uk/edibleinitiatives/the-york-patchwork-orchard/

wild edges

It looks like a lot of the path is available on Google Street View so you might be able to pinpoint the tree if you remember where it was.

AnniD

I love York and the view from the walls is beautiful. You could also try contacting these people. 
https://www.yorkwalls.org.uk/?page_id=3693

I very much doubt that you'd be able to take a cutting, but the link that @pansyface has provided may be able to help 

PickledOnion

thank you for your replies! i didnt expect such a quick response! have a nice day x

JennyJ

You shouldn't take anything, cuttings, fruit etc, without the owner's permission. If you can track them down you could ask, but you'll probably have better results if you can get the variety name and buy one on the right rootstock for your situation.

pansyface

If you find out what it is, let us know. 🙂

PickledOnion

hi pansyface - i think i might wait til spring and then take some photos of it as when i checked on the website (thank you) there is a map which has all the fruit trees on it  but i cant remember exact spot so probably best to ask around when i actually have a photo of its location. 

I was particularly interested in it as if it grows so well in York it would grow in Lancashire too! I doubt very much I will ever find its variety name as with it being massive (40-50ft ish?? hard to tell height while you on a different level) its obviously a very old tree and I doubt whoever planted it kept a record that would be available today. 

I have a Winter Gem which does well in Lancashire, but rather than buying available varieities I wanted to keep an old forgotten one alive by grafting. But I was really interested if anyone had tasted it first as no point trying to clone a dud!

pansyface

The size of a fruit tree is largely down to the rootstock that it was grafted onto. Unless, of course, your tree was just the result of someone throwing a half eaten core into some bushes by the wall and it just happened to be a very vigorous tree.

Trees don’t need to be extremely old to be very tall if being tall is in their nature. I have a Bramley which is only about 15 years old and it is at least 25 feet tall and as much across. If I hadn’t pruned it over the years I dare say it would be much bigger than that now.

And very often apples that were popular, either for their taste or for their associations, kept their name and were cultivated and sold on by nurseries. I have a tree called Nonpareil which is said to have been brought from France by a Jesuit monk in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots. As she was temporarily imprisoned in Chatsworth house, which is close to where I live, I like to think of her eating the self same apple and wondering what was going to be her fate.

Here is a website that lists all kinds of old and rare apple varieties.

http://www.bernwodeplants.co.uk/descriptions/apple34.htm

wild edges

I can recommend Katy as a good heritage apple for less favourable climates. It does well for me at 1000ft elevation in the Welsh hills. It's the best apple I've found for dried apple rings too and I make loads every year. Good for sweetening cooking apples and it's soft enough for juicing too.

https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/katy