Apple Pressing Fun Day – Sunday 12th October 2025
Save the date, Sunday 12th October – it’s Apple Pressing time! Our annual event is back and takes place inside the beautiful Tithe Barn, Lenham, ME17 2QD, located next to St Mary’s Church, Lenham. If you would like to get involved and help during the event, or support as a sponsor, please let us know by sending an email to info@lenhammeadowstrust.org
What are we fundraising for? Some of you may know that the village pond (close to the Community Centre) is at risk due to the sluice gate breaking down. Investigations have taken place including a topographical survey so the Trustees of LMT can decide the best way forward regarding the repairs or replacement. This work is necessary to ensure the future of Glebe Pond – an important habitat for wildlife and a valued green space for the community – and stop it from flooding the area plus disappearing altogether. So, we are fundraising to help with the initial investigation costs and for the main project once the way forward has been decided.
Previous events
Apple Pressing Fun Day – Sunday 13th October 2024
We were so lucky with the weather for our fourth successful Apple Pressing Day. Thank you to everyone who attended the event on Sunday 13th October, which took place in the magnificent Grade I Listed Tithe Barn Lenham. This year we had lots of apples kindly supplied by Claire & Arthur Houston of Toll Fruit Farm who donated two massive crates of apples. Clock House Farm also kindly donated apples this year through our friends at Lenham Farm Shop, a wonderful new addition to the village High Street.
It was good to see so many people having a wonderful time, helping us to raise funds that go towards maintaining Trust land and acquiring new pockets of green space around Lenham, helping to keep green spaces exactly that, green and not built on. We had many new visitors this year adding to our visitor numbers, estimated to have been around 450 people of all ages – and that is not counting all the four legged visitors that came along with their owners! Our apple presses were certainly popular with the younger visitors, many of whom wanted to try their hand at pressing, which gave our volunteer pressing team a bit of a breather.
The barn and grounds were full of things to see and do – stalls, games, music, cakes, cider, The Friends of St Mary’s Church, face painting by Whizzbang Face Painting, Pat & Glenda Neilson with their fascinating steam engine, chainsaw sculpture demos by Les Langley and Guess the Weight of the Cake with a gorgeous cake by Sherri Proctor. The surprisingly warm weather meant it was a perfect day for the BBQ organised by The Rotary Club of the Weald of Kent.
Thank you to those listed above and to the many local businesses who supported the event, including Korkers Sausages, Dewitt Residential Flooring, Philip Jarvis Estate Agent, Eden Transformer Oil, The Fig Tree Spa, The Square Fish Cafe, Lenham Film Club, The Red Lion, Down to Earth, Saxon Warrior Pharmacy, Homebake, The Dog & Bear, The Corner House Cafe, Darcy Products, JRB Roofing Ltd, Lenham Clocks and Lenham Farm Shop. A particular thanks to The Lenham Focus for their very generous donation and to Kent Loves… for their donation providing many drinks for our hardworking volunteers. We’re also very grateful to the wonderful troupe of volunteers who worked so hard to put on the day and to everyone who baked cakes for the cake stall or donated wine for Wine or Water.
We hope to hold the event again next year, so watch this space!
