Susanna Wilkey GRANNY Smith drew all the family to Kentish Town at the weekend for Apple Day at City Farm. British apples of every kind were on the menu as well as lots of pies, cakes and crumbles. There was also the traditional apple bobbing and longest

Susanna Wilkey

GRANNY Smith drew all the family to Kentish Town at the weekend for Apple Day at City Farm.

British apples of every kind were on the menu as well as lots of pies, cakes and crumbles.

There was also the traditional apple bobbing and longest peel competitions, which went down a storm with festival-goers of all ages. And the farm's resident animals were also a big hit.

Play development co-ordinator at Kentish Town City Farm, Simone Uncle, said: "It went really well. It was really busy - about 350 people came which was great.

"The main focus was the apple tasting and we had a table with all the different varieties of British-grown apples which people could try.

"There was also a lot for the little kids to do - arts and crafts, face painting and the animals.

"The adult winner on the longest peel managed a huge 105cm and the winning kid got 45cm.

"There was also a stall for fresh apple juice pressing with a traditional apple presser, and we had a tombola which was very popular.

"We were really lucky because it was a lovely sunny day and everyone enjoyed it a lot. It was fun for all the family and we look forward to doing it again next year."

Ms Uncle said this was the 10th year the farm has hosted an Apple Day, and it is becoming increasingly popular every year.

"We got a big donation of British apples from Marks and Spencer, which was great," she added.

"We also had a band made up of able-bodied people and people with learning difficulties who were brilliant and played lots of rock and roll numbers."

Varieties of the British apples available for tasting included cox, pippin, yellow knob, hoary morning and chivers delight.

Stockman at the farm, John Langan, said: "There are 1,400 varieties of British apple and the day aims to help preserve their biodiversity and range, and has become a national phenomenon since it was started in the early 1980s.

"It gives people something completely different to what we normally get and it is wonderful for people to taste all different varieties."

Festival-goer Yasmin Allen said: "It was a really lovely day and wonderful to see how many different types of British apples there are which you wouldn't have known existed. They were delicious and there were also the most delicious apple cakes.

"It is a shame that when we grow all these apples in Britain the supermarkets sell apples from New Zealand and France and we don't get access to them. I really enjoyed the band and the day was really relaxing and fun.