Vale of Evesham

The Vale of Evesham is the name used for the flat and fertile area of southern Worcestershire, England, along the valley of the River Avon, centred on the town of Evesham.

Flat and Fertile Vale

The Vale of Evesham has little heavy or even light industry, land use being mostly agricultural and including fruit farms, livestock farming and market gardening on varying scales from small producers to very large concerns.

Vegetable varieties

The sheltered climate beneath the escarpment of the Cotswolds, the light alluvial soils and the ready availability of river water for irrigation in dry weather has led to a great deal of vegetable production: spring onions, leeks, cabbages, brussels sprouts, runner beans but also rhubarb, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, beetroot, courgettes and pumpkins.

Fruit Orchards

There are numerous orchards in the area, producing apples and plums. Plums are still grown here in traditional British varieties such as 'Pershore Purple' and 'Pershore Yellow Egg'. Though orchard numbers have declined somewhat in recent decades, they still make a sufficient show of blossom in spring that they are touted as a minor tourist attraction. The plum trees blossom first in early spring with a delicate white blossom, even before the Sloe also known as the Blackthorn.

Specialists

In the villages to the east of Evesham, such as Offenham and Badsey, there are growers specialising in asparagus production. Every year there are asparagus auctions, notably at the historic Fleece Inn in Bretforton, which is now owned by the National Trust.

Trains to everywhere

The Vale is served by the 150-year-old Cotswold railway line, originally known as the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton, although this was satirised at the time of construction as the Old Worse and Worse, due to construction problems, including a riot at Mickleton on the edge of the Vale. The only surviving stations within the Vale are at Honeybourne and Evesham, and these are served by trains from Worcester and London; other stations, such as Littleton (serving the Littletons) and Badsey, were closed by the Beeching Axe.