Modbury’s Community Orchard Group held its annual Apple Day on Saturday, October 12, and it proved to be one of its best events the group has ever organised.

The weeks leading up to Apple Day are always a busy time.

The community orchards in Galpin Street and the Millennium Meadow have to be cut and the hay raked up by a team of tireless volunteers who labour for the simple reward of a mug of tea and some home-baked apple cake.

Bad weather and high winds before harvest time led to a large number of apples dropping as windfalls. From the windfalls fifteen bags of usable apples were picked up and stored ready for pressing.

Cubs harvested apples from the trees in the recreation field and a class from Modbury Primary School visited on the Friday before Apple Day to harvest the remaining apples in the Millennium Meadow orchard. 

For the second year, the pressing took place in the Modbury Therapy Centre Yard by kind permission of owners Mandy and Steve Hyde.

This year the hired press was supplemented by a second press donated to the Community Orchard Group.

It was put to good use as there was an exceptional supply of apples this year thanks to the orchards’ crop and apples donated by local residents. Proceedings were formally opened by illustrious Town Crier, David Scott.

Half of the charitable donations from the Apple Day go to the local hospice and the rest is used to fund next year’s press hire, pruning days and Wassail.