as my previous comment said judicious pruning is required, you could remove the branches directly reaching over the path,
you could take it back as far as the trunk in some places, have a look at espalier training online, you wouldn't be able to do a full espalier on old trees but it'll give you an idea how much to prune out.
you can also reduce the height to the top of the shrubs behind the trees as well for ease of picking
The birds love rotten apples and in the winter they're an important food source for them ... my OH used to bring home apples that were 'past their best' from the farm shop where he worked and we'd cut them up and throw them out for the birds ... we have a garden full of blackbirds So you don't need to clear up all the apples ... just the ones on the path and leave the rest for the birds
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I tried to reply to this thread but unfortunately it was at a time when the site was down for update. The trees have had a major cut back allowing us access to the garage walls for repair. They won’t blossom or produce apples for a couple of years I would have thought. I can now also get to all the concrete underneath which I will lift so I can underplant with shade lovers. Had a thought though-can I plant a climber to go up the apple trees?
Liz Warner, is this plant until the tree starts to grow back? I personally think that trying to grow climbers under a living tree will not work. Firstly, it's going to be dry and very shady. Climbers like Honeysuckle need moisture and a deep root run. Jasmine needs open sunlight....Tree shade is different to shade from buildings, there will be all types of debris that falls from above which can cause your plants to rot and possibly fail to thrive.
Honeysuckle could be trained from a distance away from the tree's roots and then carefully draped around the top part of the tree, but this still quite challenging.
Ivy can be carefully controlled to go up the trunk, but you will always need to keep an eye on it.
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as my previous comment said judicious pruning is required, you could remove the branches directly reaching over the path,
you could take it back as far as the trunk in some places, have a look at espalier training online, you wouldn't be able to do a full espalier on old trees but it'll give you an idea how much to prune out.
you can also reduce the height to the top of the shrubs behind the trees as well for ease of picking
The birds love rotten apples and in the winter they're an important food source for them ... my OH used to bring home apples that were 'past their best' from the farm shop where he worked and we'd cut them up and throw them out for the birds ... we have a garden full of blackbirds
So you don't need to clear up all the apples ... just the ones on the path and leave the rest for the birds 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
lift so I can underplant with shade lovers. Had a thought though-can I plant a climber to go up the apple trees?
How dry is the site under the trees? You could try enriching it with well rotted manure or garden compost and growing clematis or honeysuckle up them.
Honeysuckle could be trained from a distance away from the tree's roots and then carefully draped around the top part of the tree, but this still quite challenging.
Ivy can be carefully controlled to go up the trunk, but you will always need to keep an eye on it.