Abingdon’s Market Place hosted the Go Electric Oxfordshire event yesterday, the first in a county-wide series aimed at helping people explore the shift to electric travel.

The event brought together a mix of car dealers, local enthusiasts, and energy specialists. Among the delaers attending were Waylands from Cumnor Hill with some MG models, and Hartwell in Abingdon, representing newer models to the UK market such as BYD.

Alongside the dealership displays, local EV owners were on hand with their own vehicles, offering advice into what it’s like to live with an electric car and charging.

The event went beyond cars. Exhibitors included companies installing kerbside charging for homes without driveways, as well as those promoting wider low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps.

Oxfordshire County Council is backing the programme as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

In Ladygrove Meadow, off Drayton Road, the 30 fruit trees planted in February 2025 by the town council and community volunteers are in blossom.

Blossom seems to be all around the Ladygrove Meadow playpark — including lots of blackthorn in the nearby hedgerows.

Blossom can also be seen at Boxhill Recreation Ground, where community volunteers planted 20 fruit trees back in November 2020.

Ladygrove Meadow and Boxhill are part of a wider national movement. Across the UK, communities and local councils are planting orchards affter decades of decline. The National Trust estimates that more than half of all orchards in England and Wales have been lost to housing and development.

The Victoria Road bus shelter (on Ock Street) has been in place for nearly a year, having been installed by Abingdon Town Council. Unless you are in the habit of inspecting bus shelters, you may not have noticed anything unusual about it. At ground level, only a green fringe is visible — a hint that something botanical is taking place above your head.

From above, however (from nearby flats or the upper deck of the X2 bus), the roof reveals a small ecosystem. It is carpeted with vegetation, mostly sedum — a low-growing succulent that thrives in dry, sunny conditions, requires little maintenance, and does not need mowing or feeding. The plants absorb rainwater and provide nectar for passing bees.

The dry, straw-like remains of another plant suggest the roof may be quietly biodiversifying. Whether this was planned or is the work of a botanical hitchhiker is unclear, but it is interesting to discover that a bus shelter can develop a biosphere.