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The 86-year-old is from a farming family in the Lyth Valley stretching back generations. "The damson crop has always been important to our lives, all the farms here had their orchards.

Damsons in distress:Thousands of visitors will gather to visit the orchards blossom in Cumbria this April . By CLIVE ASLET . Updated: 17:30 EDT, 16 April 2010 ...

Hartley said damsons used to be a very important part of the economy, with 18 farms in the valley, all with orchards. "They were very much family affairs," he recalled.