The Bloody Ploughman
Several years ago I discovered a tree with bright little red apples growing near a disused railway so returned recently to pick some.  Unfortunately most had fallen and the larger ones were too high to pick but the windfalls serve as my emergency blip.  I have looked in old apple collection orchards and have yet to see any of this unusual variety but my research concludes that it is the Bloody Ploughman.  It has a sweet flavour with a pink stained flesh and dark red skin contrasting with the cream coloured Elstar apple from my garden.

The Bloody Ploughman was first recorded in 1883 and originates from the Carse of Gowrie in Scotland.  Apparently a ploughman picked some overhanging apples from a tree in Megginch and was shot dead by a gamekeeper for stealing. When his body was returned to his wife she discovered some of the apples in his pockets and threw them on the rubbish tip. One of the seedlings that grew had apples of a deep blood red colour and was rescued giving rise to the variety which was named after the poor ploughman.