Apple Day was a great success

What an extraordinary day! Apple Day was a huge success and clearly visitors were having a really good time. A group cycled from Reading in the early rain, and we had over 400 visitors from as far away as High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Reading and Oxford as well as all our local villages. We even had a slot on Radio Oxford.

The sun shone for our tours of the Community Orchard, cider and apple tasting, juice pressing and cakes. The star attraction was Paul Chilton’s display of 108 heritage varieties of apple. Make sure you come next year!

Fine foods and drink

We'd like to thank our fine food friends who were selling their delicious food and drink. Pickles Produce make pasteurised apple and pear juice using fruit from their very old orchard in local Harwell. Womersley brought their small batch award-winning fruit and herb vinegars, the most popular being their stand out cider vinegar.

Jessie's Coffee Truck provided barista coffee to go with all the apple cakes and bakes. Thank goodness!

Thank you for your apples

 We'd like to thank our industrious picking teams and the orchard owners who kindly allowed us full access to their apples. Apple Day wouldn't be possible without them.

The cake stall at Apple Day is legendary

Tart or pie, muffin or cupcake, crumble or baked, frangipane or strudel, flapjack or feuille - you will certainly find your favourite - and they are all made with apple. Oh, and there is an apple chocolate fountain as well! Enjoy them all with a freshly ground coffee from Jessie's coffee truck.

The Brightwell cum Sotwell Apple Day is Saturday 12 October 12pm-4pm at the recreation ground, Mackney Lane OX10 0SQ. Street parking only. FREE.

Apple Day - Saturday 12 October - 12pm-4pm

It's going to be a bumper crop this autumn! The trees are groaning with fruit all around the village and especially in the community orchard.

So it's going to be a great Apple Day! Make a note in your diary now so you don't miss the biggest and best Apple Day in Oxfordshire.

What to expect? Be amazed with Paul Chilton's GIANT display of over 100 heritage varieties of apple; cakes, biscuits, pies all made with apple; juice tasting fresh from the press; taste over 12 different varieties of apple; help with the pressing to make your own juice; bring your bottles!;chocolate apple fountain; cider tasting; filled baguettes made with the Red Lion's famous apple chutneys; Pickles Produce juice to buy; Jessie's Coffee Truck and a children's playground to keep everyone happy.

No charge - just come along! to the Recreation Ground, Mackney Lane OX10 0SQ. Street parking only.

Find out more about the day on our Facebook page.

We're going to be pressing at Apple Day

Bring your own bottles and fill them up with juice straight from the press at Apple Day on Saturday 12 October 11-4pm. You will have never have tasted anything as good as this. Freeze some and taste autumn in winter.

Glorious wildflowers and insects

 Here are just some of the highlights of the orchard this summer.

Bumble bee on knapweed

Cinnabar moth caterpillar on Ragwort

Hoverfly Volucella Inanis (male) on Scabious

Scabious

Wild Carrot

Scabious