Country diary: The alchemical wonder of turning apples into juice | Anita Roy

Wiveliscombe, Somerset: The process is messy, miraculous and deeply satisfying. We load up on Newton Wonder and Blenheim Orange, and set to workIt's juicing day! The highpoint of the year for Transition Town Wellington (TTW), and a cloudy?sunshiney mixed autumn day it is. Perfect apple weather.The team rock up early at Brendon Orchards' community press, and unload the crates. Run by a cooperative, the press was set up in 2007 in order to "stop the tragic waste of apples", and this time of year it's booked up solid. Somerset is apple central, with over 150 varieties to chose from, and the TTW volunteers have been harvesting windfalls and excess apples from local orchards and farms for the past three weeks. Continue reading...