LOVING the bird’s eye view chosen by the National Trust to adorn the cover of this year’s guidebook – an eye-catching aerial view of the apple orchard at Brockhampton in Herefordshire.

Taken by James Dobson for National Trust Images, presumably using a camera-mounted drone, it shows the spectacular shape of the apple orchard, which can only be fully appreciated from above.

The design represents five interlocking circular baskets, each planted with a different variety of apple. It’s the work of artist Walter Jack in collaboration with landscape consultants The Rathbone Partnership.

Brockhampton is home to more than 145 acres of orchards – the largest in the Trust’s care – and a three-year project from 2019 to 2022 saw three lost orchards restored by the planting of 700 trees.

They included field maple, hazel, elder and blackthorn, as well as many varieties of apple, damson, pear, plum and quince,  each chosen to encourage the orchard to grow and flourish.

Meanwhile, wildflower meadows that support biodiversity have been replanted and 3km of  accessible paths have been installed, offering a wonderful winding wander through the orchards.

Support from the People’s Postcode Lottery and Arts Council England, as well as funding from Sport England, helped to kick start the orchard planting project.

For more information about Brockampton’s traditionally farmed estate and medieval manor house at Bringsty, near Bromyard, visit the Trust website.

The National Trust Handbook 2024, is free to members, or priced £12.75 at NT shops, and lists hundreds of properties and landscapes in the Trust’s care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Main image: National Trust Images/James Clayton