How can a warm-climate crop endure Britain’s lacklustre weather and do so in soil that appears so different from that of Greece or Spain, where olive trees traditionally thrive?
When David Hoyles, whose family has been farming in the Lincolnshire Fens for 200 years, found it was becoming ever-more difficult to grow vegetables for British supermarkets in our increasingly dry and hot conditions, he looked elsewhere. ‘I thought about grapes, as English wine has been really successful, but they didn’t suit our soil type, which is silt,’ he explains.
By chance, on a trip to learn about agriculture in Puglia, Italy, he noticed olives being grown alongside vegetables on a soil very similar to his own and began to delve into varieties and practices. Having always enjoyed the Mediterranean diet, with plenty of olives and olive oil, he was willing to take a gamble. In spring 2024, he ordered 1,800 one-year-old olive trees from Spain and planted them.
He wasn’t alone. A few years earlier, Pete Thompson in Essex had the same idea. His farm, in Great Oakley, sits on a small peninsula with its own microclimate — it’s believed to be the warmest, driest part of the UK, with the highest light levels, thanks to the sea — all things olives like. ‘I thought, if it is going to work anywhere, it is going to work here,’ he recalls.
‘I thought, if it is going to work anywhere, it is going to work here.'
His farm, with its nutrient-rich soil, had long been known for innovation, so he felt comfortable trying something left field. ‘We have trialled and tested lots of crops, such as citrus and figs.’ Like David, he did extensive research on everything from sunlight data to soil composition and reached the same conclusion: it’s a myth that olives grow only in poor soil. After careful deliberation, he decided to try it, picking varieties he thought might be better able to survive chilly winter nights. The cold isn’t necessarily bad for olive trees, although he clarifies: ‘They need that period of rest and recharge over winter, which triggers certain processes in the tree. Having said that, I don’t want it to go to -7˚C.’
Both growers are secretive about which varieties they chose, except to say they are ‘cold tolerant’. ‘Let’s just say the trees would rather be standing in a field in southern Italy than Lincolnshire, but they will tolerate it,’ notes David. ‘The second thing we looked for, in terms of varieties, was late flowering and early maturing, to avoid frosts on either side.’
Despite our warming climate, olives are still far from a safe investment in the UK. Our weather, as we all know, is highly changeable and unpredictable. Some years bring lingering, pleasant summers; others feel as if summer never happened at all. ‘Last year was spot on for olives,’ declares David. ‘We had a very nice spring when the trees were flowering, followed by a long, warm summer and good temperatures into autumn, which allowed us to harvest in time before winter.’
Growing olives in the UK is likely to remain a gamble — a question of whether enough, if any, fruit is produced to make oil — but both growers are optimistic. As the trees grow and mature, they believe the plants will become increasingly accustomed to the UK’s climate and conditions.
Interestingly, those conditions could end up shaping a flavour unique to English olive oil. As Pete explains, because the trees will need to be harvested early to avoid frost, a greater proportion of the olives will still be green rather than purple — the colour they turn as they ripen. Although this reduces yield, it produces exceptional quality. Many growers deliberately pick early because green olives contain higher levels of antioxidant compounds, known as polyphenols, which give extra-virgin olive oil its characteristic peppery, bitter taste and carry major health benefits.
'Pete aims to produce much more this year and earn the coveted extra-virgin badge of honour'
Olives need to be pressed quickly after being picked and processed by an expert miller, but the UK lacks both mills and millers. David managed to acquire a mill and, in the spirit of the Mediterranean, where producers share, Pete used it, too. However, trial and error with the new equipment meant they both lost some of their precious end product.
Olive oil is made by crushing olives into a paste, malaxing (slowly mixing) that paste, so tiny oil droplets join together, and then spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the oil from the water and solids. Knowing when to do these things, and for how long, takes years of experience. Pete hopes interest in British olive oil might lure over a few curious millers who really know what they are doing. As for whether it is extra virgin, that depends on strict criteria, enforced by the EU. The olive oil must have no flavour defects, a free fatty acid content below 0.8%, be extracted without heat or chemicals (often called ‘cold-pressed’) and meet other chemical standards.
Although both growers are still waiting for the results, I can talk about flavour. I was the first journalist in the UK to try Pete’s 2025 olive oil and it was exceptional: intensely fresh, beautifully smooth and delightfully peppery. Pete aims to produce much more this year and earn the coveted extra-virgin badge of honour.
David hopes for the same: he sold a few hundred bottles last harvest under his brand The English Olive Company and would like to increase that, although he remains beholden, of course, to the weather