Help add sparkle to Killerton's cider

At Killerton, the National Trust estate near Exeter, the apple harvest is fast approaching. This year looks to be a bumper crop and the trees are heavy with fruit.

But now Killerton needs help to collect the fallen apples that make its award winning cider and apple juice and is inviting visitors to join the ‘Big Pick Up’ in Sparrow Park Orchard on the weekends of 3 and 4 or 10 and 11 October.

Armed with a trusty wheelbarrow, the volunteers will head into the orchard to collect their bounty. Andy Bramwell, Outdoor Visitor Services Officer, said: “Wheels will be spinning, nooks and crannies uncovered and friendships formed, all in search of fallen fruit.

Your harvest will be squashed with our 200 year-old press into apple juice. Your energy and efforts will add the sparkle that makes Killerton’s cider award-wining. The action starts at 2pm and ends at 4pm; and there are prizes for those who collect the most apples.”

The National Trust grows over fifty different varieties of apples in its traditional orchards at Killerton. It relies on volunteers and community groups to collect them, but leaves around half the fruit on the trees or the ground every year to provide an important food source for a range of wildlife as winter approaches. The orchards are managed first and foremost as a habitat, with all the cider and apple juice a by-product of this traditional approach to cultivation.

Killerton Ranger, Dave Jolley, is looking forward to the Big Pick Up Weekends. He said, “The Big Pick Up is a chance for families to spend some good quality time together in a very special place, a traditional orchard. Helping the Ranger team harvest this year’s apple crop for cider making is important because the proceeds of cider sales are spent on the management of this protected habitat. Whether you pick just a few or a whole bag of apples, your help is greatly appreciated and you will be rewarded with a sample of the fruits of your labour.”

Even if cider is not your tipple of choice, the Big Pick Up weekends are a fantastic opportunity to explore a traditional orchard environment and have a fun family day out. Visitors are then invited to come back on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October for Killerton Cider and Apple Festival where they can treat themselves to a bottle of cider, relax to live music in the orchard, try apple pressing, taste some of the great food produced on the Killerton estate and enjoy the children’s activities and orchard trail.

Call 01392 881345, or go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/killertonapples to find our more.