As National Allotment Week shines a spotlight on the benefits of growing your own food, the Horwich group is demonstrating how allotments can bring people together, promote wellbeing and create lasting friendships, all while producing an impressive harvest. Following a bereavement, she explained how engaging in the community allotment helped her both mentally and physically. Chillies growing at Horwich Community Allotment (Image: NQ staff)She said the sunshine and warm temperatures had worked wonders for some crops, with chillies thriving in the greenhouse and producing a particularly vibrant harvest. With waiting lists for allotments at an increasingly high level, Horwich Community Allotment emphasised that they were always open to new members and learning new things as people come and go. A fig growing at Horwich Community Allotment (Image: NQ staff)A huge fig tree at the front of the plot boasted huge ripening figs, and strawberries, raspberries and blackberries grow around the allotment with different varieties and colours blooming throughout.