There are a thousand reasons to head to the National Apple Festival this weekend – and all of them edible!

Picking for the festival at Brogdale began back in August as its main display will feature 1,000 different varieties of apples of every size, shape and colour.

Farm manager Nigel Baker said: “It’s quite a feat to put a thousand apples on display at once. Picking enough apple varieties for a display this large began weeks ago.”

Activities this weekend include guided walks and tractor trailer tours around the collections. Jim Arbury, Royal Horticultural Society fruit specialist, will be identifying apples over the weekend alongside a team of experts.

Free activities for children include apple craft, the longest apple peel, eating competitions and looking at apples under a microscope. There will also be falconry displays and a bouncy castle.

Pete Brown, author of several food and drink books and contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme will talk about his new book A is for Apple on the first day of the festival.

Visitors can also pick up rural crafts and produce and see live local bands including Loose Change and Jumbo Gumbo.

DETAILS

The National Apple Festival will be at Brogdale, Faversham, on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16.

For details visit brogdalecollections.org