Almost 1,000 people enjoy Hayfield's Apple Day

Organisers Sustainable Hayfield said they were delighted with the turnout for the event.

The group’s chair Cath Moss said: “This was the first significant village event since the end of lockdowns. But almost 1,000 people visited Apple Day in the course of the afternoon. We could not have asked for more.”

The event took place at Hayfield Primary School on Saturday, October 9 and featured a host of activities to keep the whole family entertained including apple pressing, den making, stone painting, and orienteering.

There were also displays by local organisations, sales of upcycled and recycled wood products, glassworks and jewellery, plant sales, wellness sessions and advice on green living.

In addition, there was a harvest festival service from local churches, musical accompaniment from a local bluegrass band and homemade refreshments and cider sales.

Apple Day is an event which tries to provide a range of fun activities for all ages but also offers displays and stalls designed to encourage more responsible, and healthier, approaches to everyday living.

Transition New Mills’ ‘Repair Café’ were in attendance with visitors invited to bring along items which are broken or malfunctioning so that the volunteer experts fix them for free.

A new addition to the programme for this year was authors readings, which featured three local authors with recently-published books to their name, who each read extracts from them, answered questions about their craft and signed copies.

Cath added: “Stallholders and exhibitors alike declared themselves generally very happy with proceedings. And the event had a good family and community feel, with plenty of people meeting up with friends and neighbours in a way not possible for such a long time.

"We were also delighted to welcome a greater number of people from further away, who’d heard of the event via print and social media. There was a lot of interest in what was going on.

"Thank you to everyone who supported us – we had a really enjoyable day.”

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