Apple Day – a new town tradition in the making
Crowds turned up at Barton Farmyard for Bradford on Avon's first Apple Day. Gillian Livingstone explains the thinking behind this 'fun event with a serious purpose'
Bradford on Avon Men’s Shed brought along their apple press - and never stopped juicing all day
Greensleeves, the Red Devil, Charles Ross, Limelight. No, these are not part of a Morris Dancer's repertoire but just some of the apples available to taste and buy at Bradford on Avon's first Apple Day. The event took place in the West Barn on Saturday 16 September, following on from the very popular Fruit and Produce Show at the beginning of the month.
Unlike wassailing, our other apple-themed event, the tradition of Apple Day is quite recent. The first Apple Day was in 1990, and took place in Covent Garden and with over 40 stalls attracted thousands of visitors. Our Apple Day was busy - but not quite on that scale.
The thinking behind the event was to showcase the extensive range of apple varieties, and to demonstrate how their distinctive taste and appearance are determined by the soil and climate where they grow, their 'terroir' if you like.
Apple Day is also a celebration of abundance and how we can make best use of the bounty. We were delighted to have local apples from Hens Orchard in Barton Farm Country Park, and Avonleigh Orchard who donated less than perfect specimens to be tasted and juiced.
The apple press constructed by the Men's Shed and beautifully maintained was the main attraction. During the afternoon, it converted apples destined for the compost heap, into around 130 litres of juice. Local residents who brought a load of fruit came away delighted with their booty, several bottles of freshly pressed juice. At the end of the day, the mash from the apples (known as pomace) was delivered to the compost heap in the Hens' Orchard, a perfect example of zero waste.
The diversity of apples was well illustrated by the range of tasty bakes on offer in the West Barn, so much so that people were asking for the recipes to experiment at home.
Apples are lovely, not just to taste but also to smell and touch. In the apple-themed activities in the courtyard, children and adults attempted to produce the longest peel, a demanding task that required excellent knife skills. The remainder of the apple was used to carve gruesome granny heads which should decompose nicely, just in time for Halloween.
Bradford in Avon is a few miles away from not one, but three cider orchards. The cider on sale on Apple Day came from Dick Willows Orchard near the village of Claverton. Freshly pressed the day before and unpasteurised, it needed to be drunk quickly, although at 6.5%, not too quickly.
Throughout the afternoon, we were richly entertained by traditional musicians from Bath City Waits, and the colourful and athletic dancing from two Bristol-based groups, Rag Morris and the Rapper Sword Dancers. The audience gasped when the lead dancer in the Rappers somersaulted into the centre of group, with their swords held carefully aloft, and came out unscathed.
Apple Day was a fun event, with a serious purpose that aimed to engage all the community. The stallholders from Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon, the Swift Group and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, as well as local horticultural experts, made the link between sustainable food production and biodiversity.
Their contribution was a reminder that our heritage of apple growing is both precious and precarious. Since the 1950s, 95 per cent of traditional orchards have been lost and it has been suggested that by 2030, it will be almost impossible buy an English apple in supermarkets. Apple Day stands as an example of how we can both honour a tradition and make it contemporary and relevant.
Rest assured we are already planning Apple Day 2024.
