Fig season has commenced and long-time orchardists Marie and Norman Clarke have thrown open the doors to their family-run orchard.

Clarke’s Summerset Orchard has been operating along Conrod Straight on Mount Panorama for the past 25 years and Mrs Clarke said this season is not to be missed.

“They’re very good, there’s plenty of figs and they’ve got good flavour,” she said of this year’s crop.

“They can be eaten fresh and there’s a lot of recipes. People can cook them in all sorts of ways and people make fig jam.”

For those keen to try fig jam themselves, Mrs Clarke makes some for purchase that is from her tried and tested recipe.

“It’s good jam because it’s got a lot of good fruit in it,” she said.

Mrs Clarke said weather conditions in Bathurst during the past few months have been a great benefit.

“You need plenty of heat to get them going, but we could do with a bit more rain,” she said.

Fig season will be just long enough to give the Bathurst region a sweet treat for a few months, Mrs Clarke said.

“We’ll have figs well into April, until it gets cold and frosty,” she said.

The orchard is open daily.