VILLAGES around the Marcle Ridge are preparing for their annual festival to celebrate the fruit which has been the mainstay of many of the local farms,

The Marcle Ridge parishes are a haven for apple and pear orchards, which are famous both for their cider fruit and their dessert and culinary fruit.

For the last eight years Putley, Aylton and Much Marcle have promoted an array of traditional apple and pear products in the Big Apple exhibition.

Janet Mackay, chairman of the Big Apple, said the main aim of this event is to promote the local area.

"We want to bring people into the countryside and interest them in the range of ciders and perries available," said Mrs Mackay.

"We also want to raise the profile of the cider craft makers and encourage people to see how beautiful the orchards are," she said.

This year the two-day event, which begins on Sunday (April 30) includes guided walks, talks by cider makers, flower and art festivals and of course plenty of cider, perry and apple juice tastings.

On the Sunday, Geoff Morris from Meads of Mercia, will talk about making cyser and other meads at Orchardcroft. His talk will include tastings.

And on Monday, May 1, ploughman's lunches will be served in Putley Village Hall with the Leominster Morris Men putting on a display at 1.30pm.

All weekend at Aylton Church there will be a spring flower festival called For the Beauty of the Earth, with an art exhibition at The Stowage nearby.

"The orchard heritage in this county is very much something that Herefordshire is becoming conscious of," said Mrs Mackay.

"People are often surprised by the range of flavours and the fact that you can do other things with the fruit like making mead.

"One of the new things this year is the introduction of bottle ciders. This is an opportunity to taste draught cider which is often seen as the lost county cousin but it's almost the English equivalent of wine."

Several pubs in the area keep local ciders and use apples and cider in their cooking.

For more information about this year's Big Apple programme, call Jackie Denman on 01531 670544.