The orchard                                                                                             

The orchard is just under two acres with over thirty mature standard fruit trees of between 70 –100 years old; mostly cider apples but also culinary and dessert types and a couple of plum trees that produce delicious fruit. In 2006 this number was more than doubled by a frenzy of planting of traditional Devon apple types such as the Ice Apple, Quench, Devon Crimson Queen and Oaken Pin. For variety we added pears, cherries (mazzards), gages, plums such as the local Landkey Yellow, Dittisham and other types of damson, medlars and a mulberry.

Apple juice and cider making
Cider making and apple juicing has been happening in and around Dartmoor for hundreds of years.  We make sparkling and still cider from a mix of bittersweet and sweet cider apples with some Bramleys for extra flavour, fermented with wild yeast. Juices are made from single variety juices and blends. The orchard has a lot of Blenheim Orange apples - very sweet, in fact too sweet as a single variety juice - but superb when blended with Egremont Russet and Bramley (ratio of 1:2:1). The best single variety juices so far are Allington Pippin and Ellisons Orange. 

Apple and orchard day
For those with an orchard or planning to plant one we are running a one day hands on course to coincide with National Apple Day, investigating the orchard and its trees, looking at planting and layout, how to protect the trees to allow orchard grazing, choice of variety and size of trees, and pruning to maintain vigour. We will pick, mill and press apples to make cider and juice (and you will be able to take home some of your juice to remind you of your day).