Tatton Park in Cheshire has cancelled its annual Apple Day event for the first time in 24 years. The event, which was due to take place on Sunday, October 4, will no longer go ahead due to a significantly reduced harvest following an exceptionally challenging growing season.
Extreme weather and pest pressures blamed
The attraction, in Knutsford, Cheshire, said the decision was made after extreme weather and unprecedented pest pressures decimated this year's harvest, leaving the park with very little fruit to share with visitors. Previous years have seen the venue celebrate the gardens' collection of around 300 apple and pear trees.
Simon Tetlow, head gardener at Tatton Park, said: "For 24 years, our orchards have provided the centrepiece for a fantastic tasting day to celebrate the start of autumn, but this year a combination of prolonged drought and unprecedented pest pressures has left us without enough fruit to share with visitors."
Climate change impact highlighted
Tetlow added: "It is a disappointing decision, but one we haven't taken lightly. The challenges we've faced highlight the impact climate change is having on gardens like ours, particularly when growing sustainably without pesticides or inorganic fertilisers, where successful fruit cultivation relies on frosts, rainfall and cooler summers."
He said the park is already adapting what it grows, where it grows it and how it cultivates it to build greater resilience for the future, and looks forward to welcoming visitors back for Apple Day in 2027.
Autumn activities continue at the estate
While the event will not take place this year, visitors can continue to enjoy Tatton Park's gardens throughout the autumn season, with a range of seasonal activities and events taking place across the estate. Skellies and Wellies in the Gardens returns by popular demand for its third year during October half term, 24 October - 1 November (closed Monday). Further details about the return of Apple Day in 2027 will be announced in due course.
