Aberaeron: 'Rare' peachy looking apple found in walled garden

You may be very familiar with the apple varieties Pink Lady, Gala and Bramley, but you can now add a new name to the mix.  The "Llanerchaeron Peach".

This rare gem can only be spotted in six locations across the British Isles, including at the walled garden of Llanerchaeron in Ceredigion.  

It has been producing fruit and vegetables for over 200 years and is home to a further 53 varieties of heritage apple.

Alex Summers, Head Gardener at Llanerchaeron said:" Llanerchaeron Peach is an apple variety that is very much unique to our garden here.

"I say unique because there are technically five other trees that are the same, four of them in Ireland and one in Cornwall, the one behind me it's probably been here over a hundred years.

The "Llanerchaeron Peach" is a rare apple - 90% of orchards in Wales have disappeared according to Head Gardener Alex Summers Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

"It represents the orchard that would have gone along with the wider property that we have on site.

"The apples that were grown would have been used to feed the family that lived here and may have even been used to and sold within the wider estate and area.

"It is indeed a rare apple and the reality is that so many of the orchards have been lost we are looking at easily 90 per cent of all orchards in Wales that have disappeared and that's equally lots of Welsh apple varieties.

"I think we have a fantastic opportunity here at Llanerchaeron to protect and conserve apple varieties not only Welsh but also English ones that exist in these orchards that are actually incredibly rare across the UK.

"We can take graft wood and we can provide that to nurseries. We can graft it ourselves and we can sell that to the wider public and that means that people at home hopefully across Wales can grow Llanerchaeron Peach and make sure that it is not just found in this garden but there is actually a part of many Welsh gardens across the country."

While the Llanerchaeron Peach's exact origins are shrouded in mystery, National Trust Cymru want to give visitors an opportunity to learn and get involved with the work being done at this orchard.

Llanerchaeron walled garden is open Wednesday to Sunday throughout October Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

The walled garden is open Wednesday to Sunday throughout October. Olivia Jones, Senior Visitor Experience Officer said: "We're really proud here that we have fifty varieties of apple and we have our apple weekend to have people come and experience what we do, the work that we do.

"We're all about getting children involved from a young age to sort of understand the work that we do.

"It is really lovely when we get people coming in and saying that they had school visits, ten years ago and that's why they are involved in conservation, that's why they want to look after and preserve what they have as well".

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