On Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:59:53 +0000, Janet Tweedy wrote:

I currently have a fairly tall ' a frame' ladder from which I cut my
hedges nut I need to cut the water shoots from my Bramley Apple tree
which is too high for the 7 foot I can reach at the moment.

7 foot working height (ie shoulders) doesn't seem very high from near
the top of "fairly tall ' a frame' ladder". Think we need to tie
down what working height you need.

Have you considered the long reach pruners/loppers you can get? Not
things with a saw on the end but things with a secatur type head.

http://www.spear-and-jackson.com/pro...g-reach-pruner
(there is an tiltable head one as well)

But at only 6' overall that doesn't strike me as particularly "long
reach". This one is just over 7'6", still not very
long...:

http://www.spear-and-jackson.com/pro...arp-advantage-
telescopic-tree-pruner

Seen the collapsible straight ones on the market and wondered if they
were fairly safe/sturdy to use ?

Safe as any ladder, which isn't all that safe IMHO. They do flex a
bit.

If not what should I go for in a long ladder, as if I am buying one I
may as well get one that reaches upstairs windows etc.

If you have that use as well as the tree trimming then some form of
extension ladder is the requirement. If you want to be able to work
on the window frame tops the ladder needs to be long enough to reach
the wall above the window when at the working angle (15 degrees off
vertical or 1 unit out for every 4 units up). For a normal sort of 2
floor house that'll be about twenty feet maximum working extension.
For a two section that'll mean a ladder with a minimum lenght around
14' (extension ladders overlap by about 4' minimum). Have you some
where secure and out of sight to store it. Tea leaves like ladders to
gain access to open 2nd floor windows your or a neighbours... 14' can
be quite a handful in a breeze a three section may well be a better
option. You don't have to use it as a three section if two would be
long enough for lower heights.

--
Cheers
Dave.