THE NATIONAL Trust has been helping to preserve our heritage for 121 years and each year the properties it cares for attract millions of visitors from home and abroad.

Manor houses, country estates, gardens, fine art and furniture and traditional trades are its bread and butter.

But many of the trust’s properties yield a natural bounty which it uses to create activities for the visiting public and turn into an income.

As autumn begins to arrive, local trust properties are offering families a chance to take part in the harvest by picking damsons, apples or turning their own fruit into juice.

This week people are being given the chance to pick damsons at Brockhampton Estate near Bromyard or to buy a bag of the ready picked fruit from the estate.

From Monday October 3 until the beginning of November, Brockhampton is offering people the chance to wander through the orchards and choose freshly picked eating and cooking apples to take home for £1 for six apples. An apple pressing day will be held at Brockhampton on Sunday October 9 from 11am to 5pm.

Hanbury Hall, near Droitwich, is staging an Apple Weekend on Saturday (October 1) and Sunday (October 2). The walled garden will be packed with market stalls selling apples and apple products including juices and ciders.

There will also be activities and crafts for children, expert advice and food to buy, including apples like Golden Pippin, Howgate Wonder and Bramley grown at Hanbury. Visitors can also pick their own bag or organic apples for £4.

An apple expert will be on hand to identify different varieties people take in and answer apple related questions while volunteer beekeepers who tend the Hanbury hives will also be giving advice throughout the weekend.

Children can follow the apple trail and discover some little-known facts about the popular fruit as well as heading off to the orchard to try some apple crafts before having a game of apple shy with their friends.

Worcestershire Woodturners will be in the Long Gallery with a beautiful collection of locally hand-made pieces. There will be demonstrations and pieces available to buy.

Croome Court and Park near Pershore is inviting people to take along their excess apples and pears during a juicing event from Saturday October 8 to Monday October 10.

The National Trust is providing a giant crusher to offer people a chance to turn their windfalls into delicious juice.

Katherine Alker, garden and park manager, said: “We are delighted to be holding our apple pressing day and it’s such a great way to use up that unwanted fruit that many of us have lying around our gardens.”

There will also be a limited supply of apples from Croome’s orchard to buy on the day. It will feature local and historic varieties such as Worcester Pearmain, Catshead, Ashmead’s Kernel and Pitmaston Pine Apple – some which date back to the 18th century.

The event is free and visitors should bring a container so they can take away their juice.