Despite this year, 2020, being dominated by the Corona Virus pandemic there has been the occasional great outing to somewhere special; and in August for our younger son’s 30th birthday we had a family outing to visit Julian Termperley’s wonderful Somerset Cider Brandy and Burrow Hill Cider.  Just a 40 minute drive West from us at Kingsbury Episcopi and then follow the signs to the Cider Farm.

We booked a tour and arrived in good time to park in the beautiful orchards.  The famous Cider Bus which for the past 49 years has provided draft cider at The Glastonbury Festival was in pride of place in the yard dispensing refreshments along with a tent selling filled baps for elevenses.

And then off on the tour to learn about the making of cider and in turn delicious Cider Brandy.  Julian, who takes you round, is full of information and has a dry wit.  We learned about the stills imported from France, the different selections of excellent spirits and fortified cider products that are produced at Burrow Hill, the importance of the types of barrels used to store the raw spirits and tasted a wide variety of aperitifs, digestifs, brandy and eau de vie.

The tour takes about 90 minutes and we followed this up with a much needed lunch, you’re able to bring a picnic and just enjoy being in the orchards or order what you need from their selection of hot filled baps.  And then we needed to walk, and there’s Burrow Hill just the other side of the road, with fine views over the Somerset Levels and of course the Somerset Cider apple orchards

And finally the onsite shop sells all that’s produced here in varying sizes of bottles which make excellent presents for friends.