Hooked on gardening

An allotment site in a small village in Hampshire celebrates 10 years of gardening fun. One founding member, Sue Hinton, tells all

- Sue Hinton

How the years have flown since a field of dreams became an allotment site at Hook Cross, Hook in Hampshire. March 2020 saw Hook Allotment Association mark 10 years of allotment gardening on its 5.35 acre site. Originally arable farmland, it was bought by the community for the community and we think it could be the largest privately owned allotment site in the country.

Sadly, due to Covid-19 we weren’t able to celebrate our superb achievement. Wouldn’t it have been lovely to have partied? While fundraising in the early years we had lots of memorable, fun get-togethers to help swell the coffers. We raised the purchase money in just over three years, to repay a wonderful village couple who loaned the original purchase amount over a much longer period.

During 2020 the site has been an even more precious village asset where people have been able to escape their houses, take their exercise by tending their plots, say hello to their friends from a distance and relax watching raptors circling above, all while breathing in Hampshire’s freshest air in a long time and looking down over the mostly tree-covered area that is Hook. How lucky we are to have such space and the allotments to escape Covid!

Even though we have more than 100 allotment holders (quite a lot for a village of less than 4000 chimney pots), with the amount of land we own, social distancing is not a problem. Over the years the site has always been a popular amenity, with a great number of original plot holders still tilling their land year in, year out and growing their vegetables, fruit and flowers.

HOW IT BEGAN