Ynyslas or vegetable colourscapes

Rosie and Olivier's dedication!

So impressed was Ms Tagalong with CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology)  that she took their recommendation to visit Ynyslas, a community garden project a few miles away near Borth on the mid-Wales coast.

Mr Ideasman drove the Bongo into the walled garden. No-one in sight. But before they could go off nosing around, Peter, 'the owner' of the land appeared from the blackcurrant bushes.

His initial reticence receded as Ms Tagalong mumbled and bumbled her explanation of why she was there and summoning his partner, Lynne, they explained more about the garden.

Healthy crops in one of those greenhouses

You have to go back to the industrial revolution really, the start of railway lines coming down from the Midlands. Borth became a holiday destination with no food! Ever entrepeneurial, the railways built this large walled garden with lean-to greenhouses on all sides and many very large ones in the middle. Several still stand today, some repaired, some in disrepair. Not surprising as there are over 600 panes of glass in each one!

Mr Ideasman was jumping up and down with excitement,

'This place is the real beginning of tourism,' he said.

So from 1876 this was a nursery supplying food to the railway hotels in town and the visitors to the railway cafes. Lucky them, their soil was shipped in from Ireland. The local port shipped out slate and brought soil back as ballast.

But enough of the history. What about community gardening? Peppercorn rents have allowed various groups to have a go at community gardening, well, gardening for the community, trying to provide box schemes for locals to have organic produce.

Like Bosavern, in far Southern Cornwall,  distribution is difficult. Chatting to Rosie and Olivier, two of the present Green Isle group, Ms Tagalong bowed down before their dedication.

Patiently picking leaves from cut and come again lettuces, discarding the curled and browned, they had arrived by bike from Borth station.

They said they were relative novices but their credentials seemed pretty good to Ms Tagalong. All four had met at CAT and were using this as a learning experience, what grew well here and what didn't. Not a good Summer to be experimenting really, thought Ms T. What could survive deluge, perhaps?

But it was time for a cup of tea, Ms Tagalong and Mr Ideasman went back to the main house which used to be the office for the railways and spent a happy hour discussing things artistic and Antipodean with Peter and Lynne who are the artists and masterminds behind Colourscape. You never know who you'll meet!

Peter and Lynne's restored greenhouse

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Apple Tree Cafe and Bosavern Community Farm

Working their way through the mist near Land's End the Apple Tree Cafe and Bakery loomed up. Ms Tagalong spotted the word 'community' and they parked.

A privately run community cafe owned by a local lady, Helen, who wished to provide a focal point for the area. Not only walkers and cyclists drop into this well-hidden cafe on the B road from Porthcurno to Land's End.

Besides great locally blended coffee and Clipper Teas there was a very healthy looking breakfast menu tucked into by a couple who had passed the place three times having been distracted by the posters about a deaf cat living nearby. Ms Tagalong enjoys spending the bank's money at places like this! Smiling she bit into the locally made biscotti and for a moment thought she was back in Italy! Mr Ideasman wanted more sustenance and the blueberry and almond cake with ice-cream fitted the bill nicely. It disappeared so quickly while Ms Tagalong was writing that she didn't even taste a morsel. The speed of its consumption attested to its goodness.

So here they were sat on comfortable sofas with apple-green throws admiring the art displayed by the Land's End guild of artists. A notice displayed offers Knit and Natter, art classes, dining clubs and an Archer's Addicts Sunday morning. Would that Ms Tagalong were there on a Sunday. A veritable hub for meetings and socials for tourists and locals alike. A great alternative to the grossly commercial Land's End Theme Park just down the road.

With glee Ms Tagalong spots a brochure on a share offer for a Community Farm at nearby Bosavern. In fact they supply the cafe with produce.

Ms Tagalong needs to investigate!

Down a few misty, wiggly lanes they pull up at the produce shed for the farm. A knock on the farmhouse door finds two Woofers having their morning cuppa. Both American they are there for a few weeks volunteering their time. Weeding onions in the rain obviously wasn't proving fun and they sat and chatted until Hugh turned up from St Just where he had been to do some shopping. Not vegetables Ms Tagalong hastens to add. Two fields of veg and several polytunnels of produce made sure of that.

Hugh explained that their mission was to stay local, to increase their veg box orders from 15 to 30 or 40 just in the neighbourhood of St Just and Pendeen. The Apple Tree Cafe was the only commercial venture they supplied but all boxes are picked up from the farm itself.

Local volunteers help keep the farm running but Hugh is the powerhouse, running the organic farm, manning the internet and blogging. Read on his website ways to try to raise money. Ms Tagalong was particularly taken with the 'Sponsor a Chicken,' initiative for a poultry six pounds. Ouch! and you get invited to an egg-stravaganza! Great idea. 

Their share offer has gone global but some ex-Cornwallians in New Zealand don't seem to have taken up the cudgel and they are still short of the amount needed to buy the farm they are using. Ms Tagalong and Mr Ideasman took a toddle to see the veggies, the chickens in one field and the pigs in two. So anyone out there reading, with Cornwall connections or not, log onto their website and buy some shares in this very worthwhile venture.

It's great to have some feedback, so please leave me some comments.