A CELEBRATION of apples will draw the autumn crowds to Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds.

Scores of varieties of apples will be on show, following a particular good year for the popular orchard fruit.

The Apple Festival will run from Friday October 16 to Sunday October 18, will include "a huge display of apple varieties as well as their many uses ranging from pies and chutneys to ciders and juices".

A spokesman said: "Among the children’s games and celebrations, there will be talks on successful apple growing by a local nurseryman, a bee keeper who will bring a glass fronted bee hive and demonstrations of apple juicing by a cider maker.

"Although Snowshill Manor’s two orchards are home to over 50 varieties of apple, the head gardener Vicky Cody has collected many other examples from other orchards and collections to bring well over 100 varieties to the festival."

A marquee on the lawn will display the huge range of apple varieties which are grown by organisation such as the National Trust, the Boulmer Collection and the Gloucestershire Orchard Group collection.

Vicky Cody, the National Trust's head gardener at Snowshill Manor said: "We want to encourage people to look at the many varieties of apple which exist – the vast majority of which can’t be found in supermarkets. We have eaters, cookers, crab apples and cider apples each of which can be used in a different way.

"We use the apples from our orchard in the tea rooms and they will use each in different recipes depending on their flavour and texture. We can take them a basket full of something great for puddings but then they’ll ask for something a little sharper to go in the pork and apple sausages the next day."

The National Trust catering team at the manor’s tea rooms have risen to the challenge of baking apples into pies, puddings, sausages and chutneys ahead of the apple festival.

There are some rare surprises in the Snowshill orchards, including "Devonshire Quarrenden" a small, deep red apple which was first recorded in the 1670s.

It is still celebrated today for its flavour.

As well as growing and ensuring the survival of some rare apple varieties, the National Trust gardeners are aware of the environmental benefits of the old orchards at Snowshill Manor, which is home to a wide range of wildlife, including insects and the bats which feed on them.

More information on the apple festival is available on Snowshill Manor and Garden -More information on the apple festival is available on http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/snowshillmanor