Killerton

Bumper apple crop ready for Killerton’s Cider and Apple Festival

This year a bumper crop of apples are expected to be harvested in time for the annual Killerton Cider and Apple Festival on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 October.

A team of volunteers have just one week, and a 200-year-old cider press, to make all the cider for the year ahead using apples collected traditional orchards on National Trust’s Killerton estate. Fine summer weather has meant the orchards are bursting with fruit. National Trust rangers and volunteers have been busy harvesting the many varieties of apples that make Killerton’s award-winning cider and apple juice. As the last...

Help add some sparkle to Killerton’s cider

Killerton’s annual apple harvest is fast approaching and the National Trust property is calling out for volunteers large and small to help with their ‘Big Pick Up’ weekends. This year looks to be a bumper crop and the trees are heavy with fruit which shows the summer rain was good for something after all!

Killerton needs your help to collect the fallen apples that make its award winning cider and apple juice. If you can help then join the ‘Big Pick Up’ weekends in Sparrow Park Orchard, Killerton on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October or on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. Armed with...

Have a go at ancient crafts at Killerton

Did you ever think about how we went from wearing animal skins to garments we made ourselves?

Come along to Killerton House between the 8 -18 September and see it happen. Learn how fabrics are made from fibre, how they are spun, dyed and then woven, knitted or crocheted into clothes and household textiles. Have a go at spinning, weaving, braiding and dyeing. The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers are holding their National Exhibition at Killerton House. The exhibition shows the finest examples of items made by Guild members from across the UK and has...

Volunteers to cast a Grimm spell over Killerton

Volunteers at Killerton are well underway with making decorations for this years’ hotly anticipated theme ‘A Grimm Christmas’.

For the first time, the National Trust property will bring to life the classic fairy tales this winter, and as Christmas at Killerton has become so popular, booking timed tickets to the exhibition will be essential.

‘A Grimm Christmas’, based on The Grimm Brothers’ classic fairy-tales, will be Killerton’s fifth Christmas celebration.

The volunteers work hard to make each year more extravagant than the last, and decorations are started as...

Killerton’s produce wins national awards at Countryfile Live

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 08/10/2016 - 10:22am

Killerton estate apple juice fought off stiff competition to take home Overall Drinks Winner at the National Trust’s Fine Farm Produce Awards and Killerton won four more awards for its sparkling cider, charcoal, honey, and its Clyston Mill stoneground flour. The Fine Farm Produce Awards recognise the best food and drink being produced by National Trust farms and estates. Now in their 11th year, the awards acknowledge the contribution to nature conservation and quality food and drink by the farmers and producers who occupy the 500,000 acres of farmland in the care of the National Trust. The...

Top farming award for Killerton Estate

Eleven South West products (27 nationally) were bestowed with one of the food and farming industry’s highest honours, a National Trust Fine Farm Produce Award, at BBC Countryfile Live yesterday, with Tregullas Farm, the most southerly farm on mainland Britain, winning the National Trust’s first-ever ‘Farming with Nature’ award. Winner of the Overall Drinks Award, the Killerton Estate near Exeter is one of the largest estates looked after by the National Trust, and one of Devon’s most innovative producers. As pure as can be, its moreish sweet-sharp apple juice is pressed using traditional...

Trio of theatre performances bring Killerton’s garden alive

This summer, three laugh-out-loud performances will entertain the crowds at Killerton near Exeter. The evening theatre shows will be brought to life by Heartbreak Productions and The Lord Chamberlains Men against the backdrop of the National Trust hillside garden. The entertainment kicks off on Thursday 14 July, 7.30-10pm, with Heartbreak Productions adaption of Oscar Wilde’s classic ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Expect hilarious mistaken identities as everyone learns the vital importance of being earnest. On Tuesday 2 August, 7-10pm, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men reimagine Shakespeare’s...

Killerton volunteers stitch new life into old chairs

Dedicated National Trust volunteers are spending hundreds of hours creating hand-stitched tapestries for chairs inside Killerton House.

The group are revamping 16 chairs each with an intricate design of the Acland family’s coats of arms.

The coats of arms help to tell the story of the Acland’s – an old Devon family dating back to the 12th century.

The designs also identify the chairs that visitors can use and add to the welcoming feeling inside the Aclands’ former family home.

The seat pads will have hardwearing needlepoint designs that are unique to Acland...

BioBlitz smashes wildlife target at Killerton

Killerton ran its first ever BioBlitz event on Saturday 7 May to survey the historic parkland for all sorts of wildlife. BioBlitzes are an innovative kind of outdoors event that bring together experts and volunteers, as well as families.

The "bio" in BioBlitz is taken from biology and biodiversity, and refers to the range of species that could be found. The "blitz" is taken to mean doing something quickly intensively. BioBlitzes show that citizen science can generate important scientific records and inspire people to find out more about the natural environment. Over 90 families...

Killerton gears up for classic car takeover

Around 500 vintage vehicles are parking up in style to celebrate Classic Car Day at Killerton, the National Trust estate outside Exeter.

On Sunday 15 May, visitors can admire unique cars, enjoy live bands and shop at food and craft stalls against the backdrop of the historic parkland. Classic car enthusiasts travel far and wide to show off their prized vehicles at the popular event in the hope of winning the coveted Killerton House Cup for the ‘best car in show’. In addition, visitors can explore over 40 stalls selling jewellery, furniture, silk scarves and textiles; and food...

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