Gardeners create 'impressive' apple mosaic at Cotehele estate in Cornwall

A giant mosaic has been created at a National Trust estate in Cornwall.

Gardeners and volunteers spent three days making the apple artwork at Cotehele near Saltash.

It was completed in time for Cotehele's annual apple festival, which took place on 14 and 15 September.

The leftover apples were picked from the Mother Orchard which has over 300 trees and 125 heritage varieties.

Gardener Hannah Milburn said: "We started doing the outline first and then began filling it in. We do it by shaded colour, so it’s very precise and takes quite a lot of time.

"At the end of the weekend, we’ll take a few wheelbarrows away each day, until we’re left with a little core."

Over the weekend, visitors enjoyed apple tasting and orchard tours. Credit: ITV West Country

Children were excited to see the design, with one saying: "I think it’s really great how they've done the apples blending in with the colours."

Another said: "I think it’s really impressive how they made the whole thing out of apples."

During the apple festival, visitors were able to enjoy apple tasting, orchard tours and pick their own.

Head gardener Dave Bouch said: "We've got three areas in the orchard - eating apples, cooking apples and cider apples.

"We've been working on it for about 20 years, building a collection of West Country and Cornish apples.

"Perhaps when people think about apples, a Granny Smith or Pink Lady comes to mind But there is an opportunity here to learn about the huge variety of apples out there."

Visitors can pick their own apples until Sunday 22 September.