PLANS are underway once more for The Big Apple, the annual celebration of the apple and pear harvest in the Much Marcle area.

The date this year will be Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9.

Cider-making venues on the tour list will include Westons, Awnells, Woodredding Farm and Gregg’s Pit.

But there will be events elsewhere, including Much Marcle Church, the historic manor house of Hellens and the Memorial Hall, and a call has gone out for more volunteers.

A spokesman said: "If you have an hour or two to spare

we would be very glad to hear from you.

"At Hellens, volunteers will be selling apples and taking admission money on the gate, stewarding the car parking, helping with the apple displays and tastings in the Great Barn and serving teas and coffees to

the volunteers."

The spokesman added: "Westons are once again very kindly loaning The Big Apple the use of their tractor and trailer to

carry visitors around the venues from Westons to Awnells

via the Memorial Hall, and they will supply the driver.

"But we need a volunteer on the trailer to help visitors and

make sure everyone is safe."

The programme for the celebration is now online.

The spokesman said: "We have put together a collection of small rural events where visitors can enjoy local orchards, famous for their cider fruit and excellent eating apples.

"Eight special venues in all, each one of them different but all with one thing in common; apples."

And a brand new "app" for mobile phones, called "Golden Fire" will inform and help visitors to find their way around the cider areas of the county.

A spokesman said: " It pulls together the rich history of cider production in Herefordshire since 1945 with films, archive footage, photography, oral histories and an up-to-date guide to all the ciders being made in the county today."

And a film called "Golden Fire" has been produced by Rural Media, using archive footage from the 1940s to 1970s.

This will be screened at Much Marcle Memorial Hall on Saturday, October 8, from 7pm.

Anyone wishing to be a volunteer for the Big Apple should phone 01531 670389.

Further details about the weekend can be found at, http://www.bigapple.org.uk/harvest2016/