Allotments are amazing things but sometimes daunting for people unused to growing their own fruit and vegetables. Allotment use in the UK was in decline until relatively few years ago, and Bisley is no exception.  People are now more interested in unpolluted food and healthier life styles,  and keeping an allotment is one easy, local and very cheap way to have both.  I have always grown our own fruit & veg, am enthusiastic about food and food quality, so when I was asked to be Allotment Warden in 2003, I agreed, and suggested the Parish Council try to revitalise the allotments. We were granted £1000 from the District Council Culture and Regeneration Fund to support the initiative.

The Bisley allotments are special for some unique qualities – good Cotswold Brash for exceptional parsnip growing, huge skies, a wonderful sense of freedom, fresh air and open space, but enormous plots! So the first idea we had was to halve the sizes of the unused plots to make them easier for newcomers. Very soon we had several new ‘allottmentieres’ who gallantly pitched in to two Working Weekends to clear the whole site of accumulated rubbish. We filled three skips, burned off the weeds and then ploughed and rotovated the whole site. 

This year one allotment holder is mowing the new paths in between the allotments to ensure the new plots are clearly visible and to give a sense of clarity and cleanliness to the site. In the autumn we will install standpipes so that all the allotments have easier access to water – that was what the allotment holders discussed and agreed by a majority as the one thing most needed to make growing easier.

We have now more than doubled the number of allotment growers from 7 to 16, and all the plots (save one) are taken along the Windyridge end of the allotment field. The ‘plotters’ swap plants and seed, and occasionally arrange shared picnic lunches when helping out one another. We are proud to have young children growing with their parents and we hope the Bisley School will take up its interest in an allotment next year through their “Healthy Living” aims. This autumn we will embark on local consultation for a community-composting scheme. 

There is a lot more space if you want an allotment! At £5 a year it is probably the cheapest, most rewarding hobby on earth!

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Lesley Greene