This is the Herefordshire Cider Museum. I spotted it while I was researching the trip and thought, well, Herefordshire is cider country, and quite a few of my other blog entries are cider-based—so I might as well go. And actually, it was pretty good.
It’s in the middle of town in a building I first assumed was purpose-built, but it turns out it sits on the original site of Bulmers’ offices. For clarity, Bulmers is now a big corporate outfit, and they’re the people behind Strongbow—which is the biggest-selling cider in the world. So there’s definitely some serious heritage there.
The museum itself is well done. The top floor covers the history of cider, how it’s made, and the general process—which, unsurprisingly, involves squashing apples. But it was presented well. Then you head down into the old original cider cellars, which I really liked. There’s a lot of old machinery, old bottles, and it genuinely feels atmospheric.
Another bonus: it was a Wednesday afternoon, and one of the perks of being retired is that I practically had the whole place to myself. I could go around at my own pace and wasn’t self-conscious about filming bits in the middle of it.
And I love the fact the Bulmer's has already picked upon the ABC theme.....
