Fall is a term more popular in the US while Autumn is more often used among British English speakers, but in a way Fall sums up quite nicely what Autumn is all about: the falling of the leaves and the turning of the seasons, the falling away of Summer so to speak. And then there is of course The Fall in Christian Theology, referring to the original sin of Adam and Eve – eating the forbidden apple.

In our garden all these things are combined, as it were: the leaves are falling, as are the apples, especially after a storm that has been brewing over the Atlantic reaches our shores. We then have a lot of, very aptly named, windfall.
Last year was a poor apple year, apparently not only with us but also elsewhere. This year, on the other hand, is an extremely fruitful year. The only tree not bearing fruit currently is our Bramley, which was uprooted in a storm last year and needed to be cut back severely before we could upright and properly support it. It will take a few years we guess before it will set fruit again.

As a consequence, we are eating not just the one apple, but numerous ones. We have different varieties, from cooking apples to eating apples and desert apples. Some are extremely good to make a tarte tatin au pommes, where it is important that the caramelised apples come whole out of the tatin dish when upturned. John is an expert at baking this yummy tart, which we tend to eat the Dutch way – with slightly sweetened whipped cream.

Others are extremely well suited to making cider, but equally nice to eat, slightly tangy and extremely juicy. We have an apple press and we might use it to make apple juice or cider (scrumpy more like, if we are honest). Whether we will this year or not depends very much on how much time and hands we can muster, as it is a very labour-intensive process. Even if we do not, others will: Walwyn’s Castle village hall is one of many in Pembrokeshire that will be hosting a community apple juicing event.
We also have a Victorian inspired apple peeler and corer that helps us make short work of turning a whole tub trug of apples into apple sauce, that can then either be bottled or frozen.

Although Autumn comes with its own weather pattern it is a fallacy to think that we only have rain in our neck of the woods. Yes, being so close to the Atlantic can bring extreme storms and wet weather (exhilaratingly so!) but also lovely, sunny autumnal days: crisp in the morning, balmy during the day and lovely clear, star-studded skies at night. Only the other night I was walking on the premises and, unexpectedly, came  across one of our guests admiring the dark skies, something he sorely lacked at home.

Although this time of year might not be your first choice when thinking of coming to Pembrokeshire, we can heartily recommend it. There really is something special about this period. We all know the saying that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Just come prepared and enjoy the blustery days that really blow away the cobwebs: they will rejuvenate your senses. And, if you come to stay at Rosemoor, we will even throw in our apples for free. No apples are forbidden in our orchard ...