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On the way back from Tesco tonight, me and the step-daughter stopped off at a roadside lay-by* to eat a meringue we'd bought.

Sitting there I noticed a tree with some cherries on... so we popped out, used the meringue box to put the cherries in and, within about 30 mins we had about a pound of cherries.

While there, I noticed there was also apple and plum trees, nowhere near ripe. The cherry tree was a planted tree, it still had its deer protector, long outgrown, on the ground.. but it had seeded about 4 other cherry trees. The apple and plum however.. I think came from being discarded in a lay-by by lorry drivers. I've seen this elsewhere, most notably in Gloucester where there's a lovely apple tree on a very busy lane... and it normally dumps its entire harvest on the roadside, about half a ton of apples, cos it's too busy to collect (and probably polluted too)

So.. here's my question(s).. have you gone scrumping in a lay-by? And if so, what have you managed to snaffle? Are the best source of fruits now in our lay-bys? Is there any reason we can't help ourselves to this little bounty? (like that'd stop me!)

* I had to look up the plural of lay-by. It's lay-bys. Not layby, or labies. It's lay-bys..

I've stopped in plenty of lay-bys, but must admit I've never noticed any food growing in them. With a fridge, food cupboard, gas hob and grill, I don't need to go out to look .

JohnB wrote:I've stopped in plenty of lay-bys, but must admit I've never noticed any food growing in them. With a fridge, food cupboard, gas hob and grill, I don't need to go out to look .

I bet you now see some cherries in the next lay-by!

Might be worth having a squint.. while having a squirt...

postie wrote: Might be worth having a squint.. while having a squirt...

There's no windows in my loo .

postie wrote: So.. here's my question(s).. have you gone scrumping in a lay-by?

Yes.

Just avoid any where you see this sign...>

Loads of remnant orchards in this part of Kent - we go scrumping in two parks, a little housing estate, an abandoned farm....

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Lots of wild damsons around my way. My bike rides in early october are arranged around the locations of the damson trees

There's a few cherry trees up the road from me. Last year I picked a few pounds but most of the cherries just end up dropping on the pavement.

Yes, blackberries!

2 As and a B wrote:I've subsequently found several apple trees at the side of the road, mainly eaters. Makes my two young apple trees rather superfluous.

Mainly eaters because they're discarded eating apple cores, is my guess. I honestly do think that anything with seeds you're eating on the go, should be lobbed into a bush, verge or somewhere it might grow... for future generations to go scrumping.

Some of yesterdays cherry pips are now down in the scrub where i work.

Underneath the passenger seat of the Renewable Crate is an unmarked brown paper bag full of plum-stones and other similar missiles. They regularly get defenestrated as we drive past promising-looking bits of verge.

One of these days we shall get done for littering. I dread to think of the epithets I shall be tempted to use, or indeed of my slim chances of managing not to use them. I have been practicing.

RenewableCandy wrote:One of these days we shall get done for littering. I dread to think of the epithets I shall be tempted to use, or indeed of my slim chances of managing not to use them. I have been practicing.

What about all the littering crimes those pesky birds and wild animals commit. And what about the wind? They're responsible for millions of trees!

postie wrote:

2 As and a B wrote:I've subsequently found several apple trees at the side of the road, mainly eaters. Makes my two young apple trees rather superfluous.

Mainly eaters because they're discarded eating apple cores, is my guess. I honestly do think that anything with seeds you're eating on the go, should be lobbed into a bush, verge or somewhere it might grow... for future generations to go scrumping.

Some of yesterdays cherry pips are now down in the scrub where i work.

I thought modern varieties were sterile? Any clues as to what sort of apples they are?