It feels a bit risky, to count your apples before they’re picked but we do appear to have a bumper crop in Portmoak Community Orchard. Farmers have been struggling with the dry weather but early season rain followed by lots of sunshine has done the trick for our fruit. There wasn't even a late frost to kill the blossom.

This year’s Apple Day is on Sunday October 5th, 2-4pm.  It’s in Kilmagad Wood, opposite Portmoak Kirk car park. If there’s heavy rain (ha!), we’ll be in Portmoak Village Hall.

After last year’s rather poor harvest, this improved crop is good news. More fruit than ever, to turn into delicious, fresh juice and to include in home baking. We shall have the big apple press, so please bring any surplus fruit from your own garden and we’ll add them to the mix. As ever, the event is a great family affair, when everyone can help to pick the fruit and see the apple press in action. One more thing to remember - bring containers, so that you can take away the juice.

Also, we are delighted to welcome back Andrew Lear, aka ‘appletreeman’, who will apply his expertise to any apples you may like him to identify.  Remember to not only bring the mystery apples, but also a twig and leaves from the tree. Andrew, from Perthshire, supplied the trees for the orchard in 2011/12 and has trained us in how to prune them and thin the fruit to produce bigger apples. It's always great, to tap into his expertise and see his own display of apples.

As usual, on Apple Day, Portmoak Community Woodland Group will be organising children’s games as well as tea and coffee and a mountain of home baking, with a strong accent on apples.  Most years we rise to apple cake, apple pies, crumbles and cup cakes. 

The event is free but we do appreciate cash or card donations towards the refreshments and the maintenance of the orchard.

Most people seem to enjoy hanging out in the orchard but if your children and/or dogs still have energy to burn, there are lots of fantastic walks on the hillside above us.

We look forward to seeing you on the day.