Somerset is renowned for its orchards. Apples have been grown in this area for many years and of course the Somerset cider industry is famous. For a few years now, Transition Town Wellington has been collecting surplus apples from around the area and turning them into delicious apple juice. This juice is then sold locally.
The apples are collected in September and October. There is a lot of time committed by members of the apple group, in order for the process to be a success. Harvesting apples from various gardens and orchards; sorting; washing; removing bad fruit and cleaning the bottles all has to take place before the juicing day.
The juicing then takes place, usually at the Greenhouse, Brendon Orchard’s Co-op juicing facility in Wiveliscombe. It has become a fairly slick operation, with teams pressing apples, some bottling, others pasteurising and then others crating and transporting to storage. Hundreds of bottles of juice are produced at the end of the process. When apples are plentiful, the process is repeated a second time.
Harvesting
Apples are harvested and collected from a number of sites close to Wellington. We are grateful to people who allow us access to their orchards. The dessert and cooking apples are mixed together. A few days before the booked date at the juicing facility, the apples are washed, checked through, and bad ones and any remaining dirt or leaves are removed. A lot of organising is also required to transport the fruit, bottles and people to Brendon Orchards.
Juicing
A team of volunteers come together over the course of the day to unload the fruit, mill it into pulp, load the press, juice the apples, fill the bottles and then put the filled bottles in hot water vats to pasteurise the juice. Once the juice has been pasteurised, the bottles are crated up and taken to storage. It’s a busy day and can be a little messy and sticky, but fun is had by all.
Selling
The stored bottles are labelled in batches for sale. The apple juice is sold locally and also directly from TTW for bulk sales to private buyers. It is sold with a significant bottle return deposit to encourage customers to bring the empty bottles back to their supplier. The proceeds from the sale of the juice goes towards further Transition Town projects, such as tree planting and developing Fox’s Field.
Photos – Apple Juicing 2025
Photos – Picking 2025
Photos – Apple Juicing 2024
Photos – Picking at Rewe Farm and Lutley Bridge Barn
Photos – Picking at Swains Lane and Hunters
Photos – Picking at Rewe Farm 2024
Photos – Picking at Spring Grove 2024
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