Celebrations of English Apples and Cider
in the Marcle Ridge Parishes of Herefordshire
Aylton, Little Marcle,
Much Marcle, Munsley, Pixley, Putley and Woolhope
Harvestime 2009
October 10th and 11th
Big Apple's annual celebration of apples, pears and orchards took place over the weekend of October 10th and 11th.
Saturday 10th was especially busy with as many people visiting us on this day as we normally get over the full two days of the event. We are sorry if you had to queue for longer than normal but the number of people at all venues far exceeded those in previous years - perhaps the exceptionally fine weather brought more people out.
The Common Core
- available throughout the weekend.
Apple sales
Take home some quality English apples –
Reddingend, Much Marcle 9am to 6pm
Roots at Little Verzons, Pixley (Sat only) 9am to 5pm
Apple Market at Hellens (2.00 - 4.45, both days)
Cider tasting and sales in Much Marcle
Lyne Down Cider, 10am to 5pm
Gregg’s Pit Perry and Cider, 10.30am to 6pm
Westons Cider, 10am to 4pm
Much Marcle Village Shop,
Sat 8am to 6pm, Sun 9am to 12.30pm
Coffee shop
Roots at Little Verzons, Pixley, 9am to 4pm (Sat only)
Bottle Museum Tearoom, Westons Cider,
10am to 4pm
Lunches and suppers
Our local pubs and restaurants will be serving dishes using apple and cider recipes and celebrating the Bicentenary of the Bramley Seedling Apple. Booking advisable.
In Much Marcle |
Nearby |
|---|---|
| Royal Oak 01531 660300 Scrumpy House 01531 660626 (closed Sunday eve) Slip Tavern 01531 660246 Walwyn Arms 01531 660758 |
Butchers Arms, Woolhope 01432 860281 Crown Inn, Woolhope 01432 860468 Trumpet Inn, Trumpet Crossroads 01531 670277 |
The Venues
– special openings both days in Much Marcle
The Great Barn at Hellens Manor (HR8 2LY)
A Feast of Apples – displays of many varieties of apples, including cider fruit and perry pears.
You can taste many of the varieties of dessert and culinary fruit and find out how the more unusual varieties compare to the common supermarket fare.
If you have an apple variety you do no know you can bring it along for identification (£2 a variety on the day) by The Marcher Apple Network.
There are also local producers selling apple juice and cider.
There will also be an apple market selling around a dozen of the less usual varieties.
Take away a large bag of tasty locally grown apples and re-discover the wide range of apple flavours.
Hereford Ornithological Club will have a display about birdlife in orchards.
Entry £1.50 (children free). 2.00 to 4.45pm
Tour of the house each day at 2.30pm (£5, concessions)
Much Marcle Memorial Hall (HR8 2LY, GR658330)
Apple teas – delicious! 2 - 5pm
Enjoy a refreshing cup of tea with a delicious homemade cake or scone. Dont leave it too late otherwise the best will have gone. Always a very popular venue.
In the Bob Dallow room there will be an exhibition of landscape and orchard paintings by local artist Eric Bottomley.
Gregg’s Pit (HR8 2NL, GR662323)
Open day – small scale artisan perry/cider-making in a traditional orchard.
Ploughman’s lunches by Truffles Delicatessen.
10.30am - 6pm
Lyne Down Cider (HR8 2NT, GR646312)
Open day – demonstrations of traditional cidermaking. Barbecue.
10am - 5pm.
Westons Cider (HR8 2NQ, GR648331)
Guided tours (£6.00/£3.25) 11am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm.
Self-guided orchard walk.
Shire horse dray rides (£3/£2). 10am - 4pm
St Bartholomew’s Church (GR657327)
Harvest church open, produce sale, tours of the bell tower (children must be accompanied by an adult). Donations welcome.
11am to 5pm
Awnells Farm (HR8 2NW)
Guided walks through the orchards. Meet the traditional Hereford cattle. Craft activities for accompanied children from 11am – 1pm.
Farm open from 11am to 5pm. Donations welcome.
Special Events
Saturday 10th October
Leominster Morris. Our favourite Morris side returns again to perform again at Westons at 11.30am, Gregg’s Pit at 12.30pm and finally at Hellens at 3pm.
More Sustainable Cider Orcharding. A talk by Professor Steve Newman of Biodiversity International.
Much Marcle Memorial Hall, 5.30pm, £3.
Press Your Own Apples with The Little Cider Press Company.
Nigel and Deborah have a mobile cider press and will turn your surplus apples into juice which you can drink now or turn into cider to drink next year. Booking essential (01531 670713).
At Walwyn Arms (HR8 2LY), from 11am
Harvest Harmony. Candle-lit vocal entertainment from Serenata. Hear how the apple has inspired musicians for centuries. Tickets £7, to include interval drink. In person from Ledbury Books and Maps or by phone on 01531 670544.
Music Room, Hellens Manor, 7.30 pm.
Sunday 11th October
Marcle Ridge Walk. 8 mile walk to Sollers Hope and back over Marcle Ridge, led by David Walker and Herefordshire Ornithological Club. Steep in places. No dogs please. Donations welcome. Meet Westons Car Park (GR648331), 9.30am
Big Apple Bike Ride. Market House, Ledbury at 10am, leave 10.30. Follow quiet country lanes, visiting cider producers and orchards. BYO picnic and explore Big Apple, returning pm to Ledbury. Information 01531 635432.
Press Your Own Apples – as Saturday
Single Variety Tasting. An expert introduction to a selection of apples, their juice and their qualities as single variety ciders. With Gabe Cook/Jean Nowell
12 noon and again at 4.30pm.
Function Room, Royal Oak (HR8 2ND), £3.00
Getting Here
Much Marcle lies on the A449 Ledbury to Ross on Wye road.
We are just 15 minutes from the M50 motorway, 2.5 hours from London and 1.25 hours from South Wales and the West Midlands.
If you wish to come by public transport, Transport Direct can work out a route for you - just enter your details in the form and click on 'Go'. Ledbury has a railway station served by London Midland and First Great Western.
Using SatNav?
Postcodes are provided for the main locations but please be aware that rural postcode areas can be quite large and you could be taken to a point some distance from the actual event - eg HR8 2LY is the postcode for a large area of Much Marcle - look out for the signs on the roadside when you near your destination.
Accommodation
For details of accommodation available in the area, telephone Ledbury Tourist Information Centre on (01531) 636147.
Bed and Breakfast
There is a range of bed and breakfast accommodation around the Big Apple parishes. Whilst we can't make specific recommendations, the following websites are also a source of local accommodation information.
http://ledburybedandbreakfast.info/bb-ledbury-villages/
http://muchmarcle.net/accommodation/
http://ledburybedandbreakfast.info/
http://www.royalforestofdean.info/accommodation/ledbury.shtml