Picking apples in the orchard with Thistle in the forwarder as apple cart

Crunchie delivering the apples

Jonna and a load of apples

Pressing the fruit with a mobile cider press

Picture for my cider labels. Some have commented that it is rude to show my back. The reason the photo is of my back is that Ian, who took the photo, was riding his horse behind me. The photo captures a moment of pure bucolic joy and is reminiscent of Jack Yeats wonderful painting 'The Singing Horseman'.

In my mind, it is a perfect image to sell my cider - joy, alcohol and horses.......

My cider stall.

HILL FARM HORSE DRAWN CIDER

Traditional farm house cider fermented and matured in oak barrels.

The orchard is just about three acres and is an old mixed variety cider orchard.

Apples are picked from the ground after they have fallen off the trees very late in the season. Allowing the apples to fall naturally ensures they are ripe, full of natural sugars and is kinder to these venerable trees than forcing the apples to fall by shaking the tree.

The apples are picked by hand and delivered to the yard by horse where they are allowed to mature further before pressing.

I would like to crush the fruit with a horse powered stone wheel in a trough but that equipment was removed and sold by the farmer years ago. Until I can replace the traditional equipment I am content to hire in a modern and highly efficient scratter and hydraulic press hired from Simon Abbiss of Prospect Farm Cider Company, Upper Dormington.

I am also working to restore this slightly fading orchard and replacing fallen and dead trees with locally sourced old varieties that are particular to this area and working to identify the tree species that are there.

I have drunk some of the cider and cooked with it and can say that it is excellent! As a wine maker and home brewer, cider is the simplest and purest drink I have ever made - apple juice and nothing else. Wonderful.

Cider press in action.

Oak rum and whisky barrels in the cellar, bubbling over with the juice of our first season's pressing

Cider on sale at Bosbury Farmers' Market. Doug with Ella (both featured on the cider label)

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