Local residents are being invited to bring their surplus apples and pears from their gardens to Purbeck Cider’s farm near Corfe Castle in Dorset, so they can be transformed into cider in aid of charity.
The independent cider maker will open the doors of Lower Bushey Farm for its second Apple Day from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday 12th September 2026, giving visitors the chance to see how cider is made, alongside a day of apple related activities.
Music, cider, and local ice cream proved a hit for Purbeck Cider’s first Apple Day in 2025
Limited edition fundraiser
The donated fruit will be weighed and exchanged for tokens that can be spent at the taproom or donated to charity.
It will then be pressed, fermented and matured separately before becoming the 2027 People’s Choice Cider, and for every litre of the finished cider sold, £1 will be donated to a charity chosen by the local community.
As well as enjoying cider tastings, live music, a barbecue, garden games, local food, and orchard walks, visitors will see Purbeck Cider’s team harvesting and pressing fruit, meet a local apple expert and learn more about the many different varieties growing in Dorset.
Cheers! Purbeck Cider’s first Apple Day event was so successful, they’re doing it again
Four tonnes of apples
The scheme follows the success of the inaugural Apple Day in September 2025, when more than 90 people dropped off a total of four tonnes of fruit.
This created the first People’s Choice cider, with donations from the sales going to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
The charity was selected after 47 different organisations were nominated at last year’s event, with the four most popular suggestions put to a public vote.
The money raised from the 2025 event will be presented to the air ambulance charity at this year’s Apple Day.
Joe Hartle with the first ever People’s Choice Cider, now being sold to raise funds for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance
“Celebrating our Dorset orchards”
Purbeck Cider founder Joe Hartle said:
“Apple Day is about celebrating our local Dorset orchards, bringing people together to be an active part of the cider making process and giving back to the community.
“Whether you have a few apples to exchange or simply want to enjoy a great day out, everyone is welcome. It’s wonderful to see fruit from the local area become part of a cider that raises money for local charities.
“We wanted People’s Choice to be something the community could genuinely feel part of, not just buying the cider but actually helping to make it.
“From bringing apples along to Apple Day, to choosing the charity and eventually enjoying the finished cider, there’s a real connection between the community and what is in the glass.
“It’s local fruit, local people and a local cause coming together to create something that can then be enjoyed far beyond the farm.”
Joe and Kate Hartle run Purbeck Cider from Lower Bushey Farm near Corfe Castle
“Just come to enjoy a great day out”
Kate Hartle added:
“I hope that those people who came to our very first Apple Day last year will have spread the word, enjoyed the People’s Choice we made with their fruit and will come again this year, along with their friends.
“People don’t have to bring apples along with them, they can just come to enjoy the music, a great day out and the community fun.
“We will be giving Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance the proceeds from sales of the People’s Choice, although we won’t have a final figure until the day itself.
“Anything that we raise on this year’s Apple Day will be put towards our new 2027 charity, and we look forward to seeing which local causes are put forward by our visitors.”
Family games like this apple shy will be part of the Apple Day entertainment
Further information
- Find out more about Apple Day on Purbeck Cider’s website
