October 14th and 15th 2006
The Common Core
- available throughout the weekend.Apple sales:
Take home some quality English apples -- Reddingend, Much Marcle 9am-6pm.
- Little Verzons, Pixley (GR665395) 10am-6pm.
Cider tasting and sales in Much Marcle:
- Lyne Down Cider, 10am to 5pm.
- Westons Cider, 10am to 5pm.
- Gregg’s Pit Perry and Cider, 10am to 5pm.
- Much Marcle Village Shop, Sat 8am to 6pm, Sun 9am to 12.30pm.
Coffee shop:
- Little Verzons Fruit Farm, Pixley.
- Bottle Museum Tea Room, Westons.
Lunches and Suppers:
Our local pubs and restaurants will be serving dishes using apple and cider recipes.
In Much Marcle:
- Royal Oak tel 01531 660300
- Scrumpy House tel 01531 660626
- Slip Tavern tel 01531 660246
- Walwyn Arms tel 01531 660644
Nearby:
- Butchers Arms tel 01432 860281
- Crown Inn tel 01432 860468
- Hopton Arms tel 01531 670520
- The Verzons tel 01531 670381
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The Venues
- open both days in Much MarcleHellens Great Barn (GR661333)
A Feast of Apples - Displays of apples, including cider fruit and perry pears. Tastings of dessert and culinary fruit. Feast your eyes and your taste buds! Also Marcher Apple Network; ‘Jus’ apple juice; perrymaking. Entry £1.50 (children free). 2 - 4.45pm.
Tour of the house at 3.30pm. (£5, concessions).
Much Marcle Memorial Hall (GR658330)
Apple teas - delicious! 2 - 5pm.
St Bartholomew’s Church (GR657327)
Harvest church open 11am - 5pm, produce sale, tours of the bell tower.
Gregg's Pit (GR662323)
Open day - award winning, small scale craft perry and cider making in a traditional orchard, managed to organic standards. Ploughman‘s lunches by Truffles Delicatessen. 10am to 5pm.
Lyne Down Cider (GR646312)
Open day — demonstrations of traditional cidermaking. 10am to 5pm. Barbecue and Cider City Jazzmen 1 - 3pm.
Westons Cider (GR648331) 10am - 4pm.
Guided tours (£4.00/ £2.50) at 11am and 2.30pm. Shire horse dray rides (£2.50/ £1.50).
Awnells Farm (GR659319)
Open day for the Countryside Restoration Trust (CRT), with wildlife artist Jonathan Latimer. Guided walks through the farm grassland and orchards. Donations welcome. 11am to 5pm. Talk by Robin Page, CRT Chairman, Sunday 3pm.
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Special events
Saturday 14th October
Leominster Morris will dance at Westons (11 am), Gregg's Pit (12 noon), Hellens (2.30pm).
Amazing apples. Poetry workshop for families, with James Crowden, in an orchard at Awnells Farm. Children (target age 8 -11) to be accompanied by an adult. Details & tickets 01531 670544. 2 - 4.30pm. £4/ £3.
Orchards through the eyes of an artist. An illustrated talk by wildlife artist Jonathan Latimer. Much Marcle Memorial Hall, 5.30pm. £3.50.
Cider - the forgotten miracle. An evening of readings and stories with James Crowden, author and poet. Hellens Small Barn, 7.30pm. Tickets £6.50, to include cheese and cider, from the Curator 01531 660504, or on the door.
Sunday 15th October
Big Apple Bike Ride Market House, Ledbury at 10am, leave 10.30. Follow quiet country lanes, visiting cider producers & orchards. BYO picnic and explore Big Apple, returning pm to Ledbury. Information (01531) 635432.
Marcle Ridge Walk 7 mile walk along the Marcle Ridge and through the orchards of Putley, led by David Walker. Steep in places. No dogs please. Donations welcome. Meet Ridge Car Park (GR631346), 9.30am.
Standard fruit tree care and pruning. Demonstration by Chris Fairs of Bulmers, in young and old orchards at Pixley House. (GR663383) 2pm and 3pm. In association with Woolhope Dome Project.
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Information
If you want to know more about this programme, then please phone Mrs Jackie Denman on (01531) 670544.
For details of accommodation available in the area, phone Ledbury Tourist Information Centre on (01531) 636147.
HOW TO FIND US
Much Marcle lies 5 miles from Ledbury on the A449 road to Ross-on-Wye, beyond the point where it crosses the road from Leominster to Newent at the Preston Cross roundabout. We are just 15 minutes from the M50 motorway, 2½ hours from London and 1¼ hours from South Wales and the West Midlands.
Dates for Next Year
Blossomtime in Putley for 2007 will be on Saturday and Sunday May 6th and 7th.
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MARCLE RIDGE COUNTRY
Another good reason to come to the Big Apple is simply to enjoy this wonderful stretch of countryside. Hopyards, pasture and soft fruit fields mix with the orchards and woodland to create a lovely farming patchwork. The slopes of the Marcle Ridge offer splendid views across to the Malvern Hills to the east, while Woolhope, to the west, is within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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