The Big Pick & Cider Fest - Family Weekend

Get ready for a fun-filled weekend of apple picking & pressing, cider tasting, live music and family-friendly vibes! OPEN FOR ONE WEEKEND - 19th & 20th September 2026 Part of the 9 day Taste East Devon Festival Explore. Pick. Press. Dance. Relax. Join us for a magical weekend in our ancient Whiteways orchard - a rare chance to wander through historic cider trees, enjoy live music, and take part in the traditional Courtney’s apple pressing, cider‑making experience. What to Expect Our beautiful orchard will be open for you to explore, relax, and soak up the atmosphere. Bring family, friends, or simply yourself and enjoy a day surrounded by East Devon heritage. Apple Harvest, Pressing Experience Help with this year’s cider apple harvest and learn how we craft our cider - the traditional way. There is the opportunity to press the apples you have collected using our crushing and pressing equipment to create your own natural apple juice. Alternatively, bring your own apples and we'll press and create your own juice to take home. The 'Courtney's of Whimple' ancient cider orchard in Southbrook Lane, Whimple will be open to the public for two days - Sat 19th and Sun 20th Sept - (10.00am to 5.30pm). Live Music Local musicians will be performing throughout the weekend to keep the orchard buzzing and people dancing in the cider yard. Let time pass you by in one of East Devon's oldest orchards - one of the 'original' Whiteways of Whimple orchards. Some of trees are over 100 years old and still producing a fabulous crop! WHAT TO EXPECT OVER THE WEEKEND Apple Picking - Be part of the Courtneys Cider making experience by helping to harvest this year’s apple crop. Explore and relax in our ancient East Devon orchards, experiencing nature at its finest. Apple Pressing - The opportunity to press apples you have brought with you to create your own fresh juice (max. 10kg) or press the apples you have picked from the orchard (note: charge £2 per kg - bring your own vessels for juice or we will provide free of charge). Live Music - played from the Orchard on both days. 'Voltage & Voice', 'Vine & Dandy' and 'Better Luck Next Time (UK)' are confirmed as performing on Saturday. Sunday's performances include 'Joy Machine' and 'Back at Nick's'. Bar - Experience the Courtney's Drinks range including cocktails, our prize-winning traditional, cloudy, low-alcohol ciders and soft drinks from our cider bar. Refreshments - Hot and cold refreshments will be available all day including awesome pizzas provided by 'Ember Pizza'. Come for a few hours or stay for the whole day - the orchard is yours to enjoy. A RELAXING DAY Grab a cider, some tasty food, throw down a blanket and relax in the beautiful East Devon countryside and enjoy our picking and pressing experience with live music. All in all - a cracking day out for all in the fresh air at a local family business in East Devon. TICKETS Day Tickets - Adults £6 per person, Under 16s £1, Under 2s FREE. Weekend Tickets - Adults £9 per person, Under 16s £1.50, Under 2s FREE. (Tickets are non-refundable). OTHER BITS Well behaved dogs are permitted but must be on leads as we have sheep grazing in the orchards. Limited parking facilities (we would encourage those that are close to walk or cycle, if possible). You must register for a ticket to attend. If you register but are unable to attend, please cancel your ticket so that someone else may come. (tickets are non-refundable). We keep beehives in the orchard to pollinate our trees. Please keep a reasonable distance away from them as they are very busy bees! HOW TO FIND US Courtney's Orchards, The Old Orchard, Southbrook Lane, Whimple, EX5 2PD View on Google Maps: Here Your Sat Nav may take you to a neighbouring farm. Our orchard is on 'Southbrook Lane' just past the railway bridge. 1 mile from the old A30. what3words: themes.extreme.flattered. A short walk or cycle from Cranbrook, Whimple, Broadclyst and Rockbeare. ABOUT COURTNEY'S DRINKS We create our range of award winning ciders and juices from the fruit in our orchards. Everything is done naturally with as little human intervention as possible. We handpick, press and bottle within the orchard. We don't use harmful chemicals or fertilisers, just let nature do what it does best. Our range of ciders available include traditional, fruit and low alcohol. We also produce THE EXE GIN and Grumblebee Honey Spiced Rum which will be available to try and / or take away. Whimple Orchards (GOLD winner) and Silly Cow Cider (SILVER winner) at the 2024 Japan Cider Cup. Yep - we export our Whimple cider to Japan! Full range of Courtney's Drinks HERE. {photos shown from previous events}