The Westmorland Damson Association can supply frozen Damsons.
Contact Sam Reynolds,  mob. 07760 286785, email:sam@witherslackorchards.co.uk

YOUR VALLEY NEEDS YOU!!

The Westmorland Damson Association is starting to organise next years Damson day, to be held on Saturday 13 April 2024. The event will be at the Westmorland Showground at Crooklands, we have endeavoured to hold it as usual in the Lyth Valley, but to no avail - the Showground will offer us a 'dry/dryish' site with good parking facilities and easy access.

The WDA committee is in need of people to join us to help with organising the event and making it happen. Over the years we have had many wonderful and memorable Damson Days in all sorts of weathers. We would like some volunteers to join us on the organising committee that would meet in the months leading up to the event and other volunteers to be more involved on the day and to help setting up during the week before and dismantling afterwards. As many of you know these occasions do not just happen and they depend on the willingness and dedication of many people. Many of you reading this will have helped in the past for which we thank you. Who do you know that could help now and guarantee the continuation of a lovely event early in the year when the damsons are in blossom.

This year's harvest of damsons is now in full swing with �Damsons for sale� signs alongside the roads in the Lyth Valley. The Westmorland Damson Association was set up in 1996 by Peter Cartmell and friends to help enhance the damson orchards in the valley through grants. We also buy in damsons from growers to freeze at our cold store at Halecat in Witherslack, which can then be bought throughout the year or sold commercially to jam makers and damson gin producers. This year we are supplying fresh damsons to three local Booths Stores. Alongside Damson Day these sales help to advertise the glories of the Lyth Valley damson and all its uses. Over the past few years our damsons and their blossom have been featured on Countryfile and Gardeners� World and an article in Country Life magazine. For an in depth history of the Lyth Valley damson enjoy and revel in the podcast by
Desmond Holmes and Hartley Trotter that is on ' Countrystride #54: Damsons of the Lyth Valley �. They are both local farmers with a story or two to tell.

If you are able to help us in anyway please contact us via info@lythdamsons.org.uk

If you would like to purchase frozen damsons from us during the year please contact
Sam Reynolds on 07760286785, email: witherslackorchards@gmail.com

or

Visit Witherslack Community Shop

(please bring suitable containers)

Damson Day 2025

12th April

Here's the flyer for our 2024 event

Click on the image for a bigger version.

Or click HERE to download a pdf version

Westmorland Damson Association