An apple a day keeps the doctor away – the juicy vitamin C filled fruit has always been an integral part of our lives but it is actually playing a vital role in Cheshire. BEN COULBECK reports.

Autumn leaves are falling and so are Cheshire’s apples – by the hundreds and thousands.

The county boasts some of Britain’s largest apple producers with fruit farms and orchards reporting another huge yield this harvest.

With increasing revenues boosting the rural economy and local businesses and customers benefiting from local high quality and affordable produce, Cheshire apples are at the core of the county’s future in the food marketplace.

The Winsor family’s Willington Fruit Farm, near Kelsall, has been producing apples for 55 years while Eddisbury Fruit Farm, also in Kelsall, was established in 1936.

Orchards at both farms are brimming with more than 16 varieties of apple, bought by retailers and the public across the county and used to make Cheshire apple juice and Cheshire cider.

John Winsor said: “Cheshire apples are better than others because they haven’t travelled and they are hand picked. The closer to home you eat fruit and veg the better it is for you. They are also fresher so they retain their goodness better than ones that have travelled or stored for a long time.

“We are helping the local economy as we are selling to and buying from local businesses. We are a family partnership of nine people and at the moment we have 16 employees.

“We have had a good harvest this year and we average about 100 tonnes a year. People like to come here for them as they are cheaper than those in the supermarket.”

The Winsors’ farm, on Chapel Lane, is one of the most northerly commercial apple farms in the country which goes someway to dispel the opinion that fruit cannot be grown successfully in the north.

Cheshire Life magazine printed in 1935 that: “Cheshire is situated too far north ever to become a really important fruit growing centre”.

Willington Fruit Farm however benefits greatly from its location as it is protected from strong winds and hard frosts by the nearby Sandstone Ridge.

Peter Papprill, a fine enthusiast of Mollington Grange-based Pendrill Foods, said: “There is something about the magic of the Kelsall area. There is a part between Kelsall and Willington which is nicknamed ‘Little Switzerland’ where some the orchards are based.”

Apple growers are building up towards next Wednesday’s celebrations for national apple day (October 21) with villages surrounding Chester, local schools and the Eaton estate joining forces with Grosvenor Garden Centre in Belgrave.

Collection containers representing Aldford, Eccleston and Saighton will be positioned at the Grosvenor for people to donate their apples to be pressed at Eddisbury Fruit Farm, on Yeld Lane. The juice will then be sold to raise funds for the villages’ various community events.

Grosvenor managing director Iain Wylie said: “Working within the community is at the heart of Grosvenor’s ethos and following highly successful celebrations of the humble apple over the past few years here at the garden centre.

“By actively working in partnership with the villages in the neighbourhood and alongside the garden centre, I am delighted that so many people will benefit from this joint venture and hope for great support for the villages during apple weekend.”