Apple Festival - Middle Farm

So today was the day of the Apple Festival at Middle Farm, Firle, East Sussex. Mum working at the primary school in Firle managed to get two free tickets and so we all payed a little towards my ticket as you have to pay £10 to get in. I haven't decided whether or not it's worth £10 yet though I did enjoy the afternoon.

There were a range of activities, a fair for those young and small, animals that you could pet along with the sheep and chicken races! Lots of cider and apple juice and obviously lots of apples! There were stalls that were taken by various people, meat from Middle Farm, various people in Firle had stall's where they were selling what they had made. You can have easily spent a fortune on food, ranging from meat to veggie bites or bread and cakes!

Near where they were selling the apple juice in a tent they were pressing the apples so everyone could see the apples being pressed before they bought them.

Apple Press

After they pressed the apples they then poured them into the barrels through a sieve so they could get  out any lumps that was still in the juice before it went to the public to drink it.

Sieving the Apple Juice

There were other things going on, like the sheep and chicken races where you could bet on which animal you wanted to win. This attracted lots and lots of people! For younger children you could go and watch the cows being milked, they all went in and were all attached to the machine. This seemed a hit with the children who found it rather fascinating.

Being filled with milk

It was possible to see the cows being milked and fed and then moved on so that the other cows could come and eat and have milk taken from them. The cows waiting to be milked looked so sad that they weren't being milked, guessing it was because they were hungry!

Waiting their turn

Being an apple festival and being at Middle Farm, there was of course a lot of cider going around. Personally I would say this is a festival for adults more then children as there seemed much more drinking and smoking going on then anything else. I found the farm a good place for some photos and have enjoyed the afternoon. I also signed up to the Sussex Wildlife Trust as a member where I found out about the different courses they do including some in photography! I would happily go again, it was a good afternoon and was nice to see the different stalls and the things for sale.

More photos can be seen here.

Guess what this is?