Thorpeness Apple Tree on the beach by Eric Atkinson

As can be seen from the photograph, the apple tree lies about 50 meters from the sea in a depression on the shingle bank mid-way between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness adjacent to the sluice, it is about 10m in diameter and about 1m high, kept flattened to the shingle and restricted in growth by the strong coastal winds. It is believed to have been on the beach for over fifty years and is the possible result of a discarded apple core and despite the effects of the wind and sea spray the tree does bear edible fruit.

It is also known as the Roger Deakin’s Apple as he wrote about it in his book ‘Wildwood’ published in 2007. It has been propagated by grafting and now is included in a number of Suffolk orchards and locations that are involved in the scattered orchard project, It is also available to purchase from a local nursery in Campsea Ashe.