Apple Day Sunday 12th October 12-4pm

It's official - there is a bumper crop in the village so we will have an Apple Day this year. We never  take Apple Day for granted. We wait for our fruit expert, Paul Chilton, to declare that the crop is sufficiently heavy, the June drop is not significant enough to diminish the crop and the weather conditions are suitable.

• See the biggest display of heritage varieties of apples laid out in a formal setting.
• We will be pressing for 4 hours! Bring your bottles along.
• Apple tasting - at least 12 different varieties to taste and take away.
• Cakes, tarts, pies, muffins, flapjacks, biscuits all made with apples and all for just a donation.
• Try to create the longest peel.
• And great food, tea, coffee!
• Plus stalls selling recipe books, pottery, speciality vinegars, and more.

As usual street parking only around the village.

The 2025 crop

We will have a good Apple Day this year. The crop is sufficiently heavy, the June drop was not significant enough to diminish the crop and the survived the rabbits.

However, this year the summer has been so hot and sunny that, as with all farming throughout the country, the apple harvest is 2-3 weeks early. Blossom was full in April rather than mid May and, in response to the heat, Bramley's are dropping all their fruit now at the end of August, instead of early October. The apples are smaller than usual but luckily villagers are enjoying picking and eating the early varieties in the orchard. There is no doubt that climate change is affecting all farming in the UK.

 

Phew! That was close

Did you see the apple trees in the orchard wrapped in plastic recently? It wasn't an art installation it was us trying to protect the trees from being eaten by those pesky rabbits. The team did a great job giving each one a wire cage although the damage was significant on one or two trees and we might lose them. Fingers crossed.

 

Celebrating the Queen of the Realm

Some more additions to the apple varieties in Brightwell. Tom Debney kindly dug 6 holes in a glorious orchard in the heart of the village. The orchard can be found on maps dating back to the 1700s. Paul Chilton is the quality controller for the holes!

Described by the growers Frank P Matthews in Worcestershire, Queen of the Realm™ is a very exciting apple, released to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee in 2022. It has a unique appearance of a beautiful purple blushed skin with white undertones, resembling HM The Queen’s resplendent purple robes. The lenticles are prominent giving a slightly freckled appearance. The flesh is white, crunchy, crisp and juicy with sweet, aromatic flavours. Eats beautifully when picked straight from the tree in mid September, or can be stored for a couple of months.

Wassailing the village orchards

The village celebrated a new apple season with a traditional Wassail. Evil spirits were driven away from the trees with gunfire, Robins, the good spirits of the orchards, were tempted to feed in the orchard with bread dipped in cider and hung on branches, the trees were woken up from their winter sleep by beating their trunks and feeding their roots with cider, and everyone celebrated with lambswool, a warmed drink of cider and cooked apple. As each year, the Armaleggan dancers were the highlight of the festivities.

Have a look at Andrew Trythall's fabulous photos of the day

Our Paralympian Paradice Gold

One new variety added to the village this winter is Paradice Gold. In 2012 it was chosen by the Paralympic Legacy as a new apple to be planted in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

We have chosen this variety to celebrate the success of our own rowing Paralympian, Frankie Allen. She won gold in the Paris Paralympics in 2024 and at just 22 is already a 3 times World Champion in the PR3 Mix4 (far right in the photo).

Does Brightwell cum Sotwell have more varieties than any other village?

The new trees have arrived. Last year the Orchard Group gave 15 apple and pears trees to villagers who wanted to add to the heritage varieties already in the village. The project was so successful we decided to do it again!

The trees are bare root from Frank P Matthews of Worcestershire who have been growing trees since 1901. The trees have been "heeled in" in Paul's garden ready for planting in the new year.

With these trees we now have 108 different varieties of apple in the village!