ONCE again Chepstow Apple Day drew huge crowds to the Drill Hall on Sunday hailing it another success for the event now in its third year.

The day saw hundreds of people attend, perusing a wide range of stalls including Avril's Country Kitchen selling a variety of apple and fruit chutneys, Monmouth based cider maker, Ty Gwyn, and a number of other local apple producers displaying their wares.

The Cormeilles Twinning Association hosted a stall, with members including Cllr Marian Lewis, offering visitors a taste of the Normandy-based brandy, Calvados, with proceeds going towards the association's exchange programme with Cormeilles - the town twinned with Chepstow.

A Rifleman from The1 Rifles Battalion hosted a stall selling its custom-made cook book which sees all proceeds go towards the Battalion's Swift and Bold Appeal, and Matt Taylor, owner of Chepstow Bookshop also brought along a range of culinary books stocked by his shop on St Mary's Street.

Gwent Wildlife Trust and Transition Chepstow offered a range of activities including making apple bird feeders and pastel paintings occupying many of the youngsters who attended the event.

Favourites on the day were the Chepstow based border dancers, The Widders, who entertained the crowds with their unique heritage dances, and Marcus Perrin and Marc Carlton lead walking tours of the local apple orchards throughout the day.

Last year's hugely popular apple i.d stand was back with experts on hand to offer advice to visitors keen to identify the variety of apples found in their own gardens.

Prestiged local chef, James Sommerin, of The Crown at Whitebrook, judged the apple dessert competition, which was won by Jo Robson, of Chepstow, with her flamboyant flan based apple cake topped with meringue. 21 desserts were entered into the contest all of which Mr Sommerin commented were of a fantastic standard.

Cllr Ned Heywood, who runs the Drill Hall and organises the event, said: "What a terrific day. We sold all of the apples - half a ton to be exact. And once again, the apple i.d stand was extremely popular. The event was an unqualified success and yet another great day for the Drill Hall."

Cllr Marian Lewis, added: "This year's Apple Day was better than ever. It was, as always, a hugely enjoyable community event. Special thanks must go to Cllr Heywood and the Drill Hall management committee for putting it on, and to Transition Chepstow who not only provided a most informative stand covering all aspects of their activity, but also bird-feeder making, apple-bobbing, human fruit machine and longest-apple-peel competition to entertain all ages."