Coton Orchard’s ancient bramley crowned “Champion Tree”

A Bramley tree in an orchard threatened with destruction to make way for a busway is the second largest of its species ever recorded in Britain and Ireland.

The Tree Register of the British Isles sent tree registrar David Alderman to visit Coton Orchard to measure the trunks of 12 of its oldest Bramley trees, who discovered one specimen had a 2.44m circumference.

He told the orchard’s owners: “This makes it not only the biggest Bramley tree in the county but also the second largest Bramley apple tree that we’ve ever recorded in the whole of Britain and Ireland.”

And he added: “It could be the largest once we’ve checked our records.”

These large examples are called “champion trees” by the Trees register. Champion Trees are individual trees which are exceptional examples of their species because of their enormous size, great age, rarity or historical significance, David explained.

During the inspection, David also noticed the sizable Grey alders (Alnus incana) in the hedgerows. This may be another Champion tree as the largest Grey alder in Cambridgeshire, was at the Botanic Garden but it died in 2004, according to David.

The Cambourne to Cambridge busway plan would see a dedicated off-road route cut through Coton Orchard and green belt land to provide a new transport link to the city.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership plans include a dedicated busway serving Cambourne and the proposed Bourn Airfield development, as well as Hardwick, Coton and the West Cambridge campus.

Running alongside the busway is proposed to be an ‘active travel path’ to be used by pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians. A new Park & Ride site is also proposed under the plans, which have taken eight years to develop.

Tree registrar David Alderman told the orchard’s owners: “The Tree Register works in partnership with the Woodland Trust and the Ancient Tree Inventory so for some time we have been aware that Coton Orchard is home to many veteran and notable trees with potential “Champion Trees” which we are specifically interested in recording. Although Woodland Trust have conducted their own site survey in relation to the busway route, none of Coton Orchard’s trees have been officially measured or recorded for the Tree Register, which maintains a database of over 200,000 of the UK’s most special trees.”