APPLES, glorious apples, were in plentiful-supply on Saturday as hundreds poured into Trowbridge Park for a hard core day at the town's fruity festival.

The Trowbridge Apple Festival returned to the park for the fifth edition of the event, which included apple juicing and pressing, a longest peel competition, apple bobbing and tasting, an apple bake off, apple cooking and a giant marble run with apples.

Bob Flowerdew, a panel member with BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, made the event even more appealing as he gave a talk about organic fruit and vegetables, and joined in with the festival too.

One of the organisers, Mel Jacob, said: "It went brilliantly. Just a really fantastic occasion, for all of the family to enjoy the wonderful world of apples.

"There was a huge mix of things for people to literally get their teeth stuck into. The marble run in particular was a huge success, attracting both people who came for the festival and passers by too.

"I first saw something like it at the Eden Project in Cornwall, where they used guttering and planks of wood to guide water around the building, so we thought we would do the same sort of thing, but with apples - and it worked so well.

"It was a lovely Autumn day, it was not sunny but it did not rain which was good. Mr Flowerdew was a great addition to the event and the people who went along were singing his praises as it was a very informative talk. We would love to have him back."

Trowbridge Arts helped put on an arts and crafts event, and attendees also enjoyed live music, cider on sale, conkers, stalls and much more.

"This year people also got to go round the wonderful orchard at Courtfield House, a place the late Mary Pearce, who was a judge at the festival in the first three years, used to let us go round. We wish she could have been there for this," she said.

"I want to say congratulations also to Sue Jones who won the apple Bake Off competition, which rounded off a great day."