TRADITIONAL CIDER MAKING DAYS
Come and join us for a day of Cider Making!
Be part of a team and learn how to make Traditional Farmhouse Cider.
Our idyllic West Dorset orchard was mutually inspired by our backgrounds in horticulture and agriculture, which stirred us to buy a 10 acre field and plant traditional standard orchard of vintage cider apple varieties before we had even bought a house! The trees have slowly but surely come to fruition over the last 20 years and we now produce a traditional farmhouse cider on a small scale with our beautiful old French press. We love what we do and can’t wait to share it with others.
As part of a small group, you will take part in collecting and washing the apples; loading them onto the elevator for pulping, filling the cloths of the traditional French press and building the ‘cheese’ before finally cranking down the press and watching the juice flow before pumping it into our oak barrels.
Itinerary
The day will start at 9.30 am with a welcome hot drink and biscuits
We will start pressing the apples at 10 am with previously collected apples and should have enough juice to fill a barrel by lunch time.
Enjoy a simple lunch of delicious home made soup, local bread and cheese and homemade cidery apple cake, plus tea, coffee or cold drinks.
After lunch we will take a tour of the orchard and spend some time picking up apples from under the trees until 3.30pm, before a final cup of tea and cake. Take home a cider making kit to try making your own cider at home, or some apple juice or ready-made cider if preferred.
We expect each day to be finished by 4pm.
Why not make a weekend of it and stay in our AirBnB? Find out more at our Accommodation page.
How to book
This year we are offering our cider making experience days on the following dates:
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Saturday 10th October 2026
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Saturday 24th October 2026
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Bespoke days are available for small groups (6-8)
Places are £85 per person. To find out more and book in, contact us at gardenersorchard@gmail.com or leave a message on 01308 346207 and we will get back to you.
We welcome enquiries from individuals, groups or businesses interested in team building or traditional skills days. Get in touch and we can tailor a day for you.
See you in the orchard!
Reviews
Thank you so much for a unique day spent with you all at the start of our Dorset holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves throughout all aspects of the day. The intimate small group was perfect and we got to know a little about our fellows as well as the history of your farm, orchard, and cider business.
We felt totally immersed in the business of making cider during a day that was relaxed but so well planned. Like stepping back in time - priceless!!
The food & drink was, simple, generous, delicious and timely. Who thought a day in wellies, long milking apron and rubber gloves spent outside and in an open barn could be so perfect. And… we all went away with some of the fruits of our labours. Looking forward to that cider next spring. It’s bubbling away nicely already!
--- Jan and Colin, October 2025
Just a quick email to say thank you for our recent visit to your orchard. We all enjoyed ourselves and look forward to your recipe for the delicious apple cake. Many thanks to all of you, we came away with far more knowledge of English apple varieties and cider making as well as the work involved in running an orchard.
---Broadwindsor WI, October 2025
