Properties with orchards: everybody wants a bite The cider house rules: the orchard at Cutbrawn in Cornwall "Experts said they wouldn't grow this far west, but grow they have," he says. With the help of Adam's Apples, a company in Honiton who advised them on which varieties would work, the orchards, visible from the breakfast room, have flourished. Along with the carefully restored six-bedroom, 15th-century house on the estate, which the couple simultaneously completed, the orchards are their pride and joy. They are populated with varieties including Bramley Seedlings, Morgan Sweet cider apples and Blenheim Orange apples, an extremely sweet variety with a nutty flavour, which is picked in late September then stored and traditionally eaten at around Christmas time (it's the classic Christmas stocking variety). However, Brian and June sell their Blenheim Oranges to Cornish Orchards, a local company that turns them into cider and juices - they've just delivered the first 400-or-so kilos, and the rest of the pickings will go over in late September. Other varieties, such as Claygate Pearmain and the Cornish Gilliflower, are crushed at Cutbrawn, then taken to a company in Saltash for pressing and bottling. "The apples we sell pay for the bottling of the apple juice," Brian explains. We give away a lot of it as presents, and there's plenty for the family. Along with the apples, there are pears, plums, cobnuts, hazelnuts and blackberries in abundance - all part of the rural idyll on the estate, which is close to the River Fowey, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The orchards are just one part of a landscape that includes fields, ponds, a lake where you can "sit and watch dragonflies duelling over the water," breathtaking woodland, and wildlife including deer, pheasant, duck, snipe, woodcock, bittern and otters. "I go to the ponds in the valley to catch brown trout, and we eat some of the venison from the land," Brian says. We have to get a company in to keep the deer under control; given the chance they'd eat the garden, so we think it's a fair exchange! The orchards have added to the family's lives, but they do require quite a bit of work. "The climate can encourage mould spores, and there's always a lot of work to do on the Blenheim Orange trees, which are prone to canker," Brian says. But it has been a wonderful project, and definitely worthwhile. While the orchards were never meant as a commercial venture, Brian and Julia have, in the past, rented out the ancient apple barn - an adjoining wing of the house, but with its own entrance - for up to 20 weeks a year, for holiday lets and also for television shoots. The Davidges are now selling Cutbrawn; some of their close family have moved to the United States, and they need the freedom to travel there on a regular basis. "There's no question, we will miss it terribly," Brian says. It's a magical place. A new owner could rent out the apple barn again, it's "ready to go," and there's scope for further expansion into storerooms (there are workshops covering 3,500ft). "This combination of a very manageable main home of character and an adjacent cottage for letting or family expansion is difficult to achieve, even in Cornwall where daily amenities are within a short drive," says Nigel Stubbs. Additionally, the area in which Cutbrawn is situated is particularly beautiful and peaceful, well away from any main roads, close to the upper reaches of the river. It is highly unlikely that this part of the county will suffer major development thereby safeguarding the future. As for the orchards, they need a custodian to make sure there are many happy scrumping days ahead. For sale: homes with room to grow Broadhempston, Devon, £595,000 Sunnymead: a three-bedroom chalet bungalow set in glorious countryside five miles from Totnes. The gardens, bordering a stream, cover more than five acres and include a large vegetable plot and an apple orchard, and two paddocks - one of which has a polytunnel. Available for sale as a whole, or in two lots. Strutt & Parker, 01392 215631 Kenn, Somerset, £699,000 Latcham House: a four-bedroom, Grade II listed house with 16th-century origins, in a quiet rural setting. The outdoor space is enchanting: it has one-acre grounds with fruit trees and a vegetable patch (greenhouse available by separate negotiation). Currently a much-loved family home, it has been updated beautifully over the years. Wiveliscombe, Somerset, £2m Ford House: a spectacular nine-bedroom Georgian country house with 13 acres, including an arboretum, a walled kitchen garden and allotment, which the owner lends to people in the community and receives chutney, gooseberries or potatoes in return; right now, it's full of raspberries and sunflowers. Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01823 325170 Cutbrawn is for sale at £1.75 million through Jackson-Stops & Staff (01872 261160)