What else could I write about this month, apart from apples? 
It is autumn on a farm in Somerset. It is that time of year when there is so much fruit in season, every walk involves a bite or a nibble. Both man and beast, we are all well fed.
We have many varieties of apple growing around the farm, some in orchards, some along tracks, some found in hedgerows individually. There are eating apples, cooking apples and of course, cider apples. I like the small but sweet Cox’s Orange Pippin. My daughter loves the Pink Lady which has truly pink flesh when you bite in (she loves anything pink!) My husband (the chef) loves nothing more than a few Bramley cooking apples. The tractor driver likes the cider apples, for his homemade scrumpy (not for the faint hearted).
However there is one apple tree that is our particular favourite, it is unique. It is the only know tree of its variety in the world. This is the Speke’s Express Apple Tree.
The tree was discovered when walking near the old railway line many years ago. It could not be identified locally and so an apple and branch were sent to Kew Gardens for identification. They confirmed that it was not previously recorded and likely to be a forgotten old English variety. The experts felt that an apple of this variety was probably eaten by someone travelling on the old railway branch line. The
core that was thrown out of the carriage window, miraculously germinated and grew into the tree that is there to this day. The tree must be at least 50 years old, probably a lot more. No trains have travelled this path since 1966. The tree continues to produce a few apples and make a contribution to the living history of the farm from its inconspicuous location.
There are things that the internet does not yet hold information on and this is one of them. Having googled hard, there is no mention in any directory of the Speke’s Express – you heard it here first!