THE Blossom Trail through the Vale of Evesham celebrates one of the most famous and traditional sights of Worcestershire - plum orchards and the glory of the blossom.

Over the past couple of decades, many orchards have been grubbed out for economic reasons, but one prominent orchard on Hipton Hill overlooking the Avon Valley had been protected and replanted with the aid of a Countryside Stewardship Scheme grant from Defra.

Visitors can park and walk through more than 60 acres of orchard during blossom time to enjoy the sight and experience.

The orchard, which is owned by a trust, entered a 10-year Countryside Stewardship Scheme agreement in 1966 under which the trust is paid by Defra to manage the trees, including pruning and replanting saplings to replace old diseased trees.

Local farmer Peter Hobbs, one of the trustees, said: "Some of the plum trees at Hipton Hill are over 80 years old and the orchard can be seen up to 20 miles away when the weather is good. It is one of the most prominent views in South Worcestershire and the Avon Valley.

"Under the scheme the existing trees are pruned during the summer, to allow light and air to get to all parts of the tree. Pruning also removes dead and diseased wood, but some dead wood is allowed to remain, providing a good habitat for beetles, insects and other invertebrates."

Mr Hobbs added: "The scheme had also paid for the planting of 350 traditional plum trees. Varieties traditional to the Vale include Purple Pershore, Czar, Yellow Egg, Burbank, Victoria and Marjorie Seedling"

Sam Somers, of Defra's rural development service in Worcester, said: "One of the less understood roles of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme is to protect the historic landscape and what could be more traditional around Evesham than fruit orchards.

A decline in the market for home-grown fruit has seen many of the orchards become uneconomic, leading to them being lost, so this extra support can be really important."

He pointed out that as well as the historic aspects of the orchard, it was also making an important contribution to wildlife.

Under the agreement the grass gets no fertiliser and is cut once, late in the season, encouraging wildflowers by giving them time to seed. The dead wood and hollow branches on the older trees attract lesser spotted and green woodpeckers, tree creepers and the nuthatch, while the fruit buds appeal to finches, jays, thrushes, redwings and fieldfares.