On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, months of apple picking across all 500 acres of orchards on the Killerton estate culminates in a two day family festival to mark National Apple Day. Sparrow Park orchard is festooned with bunting, stalls are scattered between the apple trees, and live music drifts in and out of the shade. The amazing smell of a traditional hog roast will greet you at the gate, tempting you to try all sorts of tasty local food produced right here on the Killerton estate. Live music will conjure up a magical atmosphere and will have you dancing round the apple trees. A juggler and magician will entertain the crowds on his unicycle and Killerton cider bar will be serving up the estate’s award-winning cider, cider cocktails and mulled cider.

Tradition is at the heart of the weekend, with traditional orchard management, cider production and conservation all being celebrated. You can even bring a small bag of your own garden apples to press into a bottle of juice to take home or follow the orchard trail to witness a 200 year old farm press and a piece of history in action. A local tree nursery will be selling fruit trees and offering specialist advice for home growing.

For the children, there will be apple-wood crafts, village fete games and a children's bumble bee parade. The wild at heart can get their hands dirty with wild arts and crafts while youngsters can also forage their own apples with mini-wheelbarrows and cook them up over a camp fire. Older children will love firing arrows at our William Tell targets under the expert tuition of an archery club.

Don’t forget that you can join in the Big Pick Up weekends to help us pick our fallen ripe apples from the orchard. It’s a great family activity, and you can challenge each other to see who can collect the most apples. The Big Pick Up weekends are on 3 & 4 and 10 & 11 October.

Admission: Family £10, Adult £4, Child £2. National Trust members and U5s free entry.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/killertonapples