There was a bit of a first for me here. I had the hotel booked before the invitation arrived! A little presumptuous I guess but my friend had hinted it was on its way.
So what else is new? Well it seems to have been all cider this weekend. I visited a garden I had never seen before. This was part of the Arts Trail but is not far away. I will tell you more about Barley Wood Walled garden another day but this is a taster of some the beautiful apple blossom.
The walled garden has its own orchards and cider press where it makes cider . We didn't peep in but this is the cider house. It supplies cider to its own restaurant.
Then while we were in the cider mood it was off to The Railway Inn at Sandford for Sunday lunch. This delightful pub is next to the Thatchers cider factory and is owned by Thatchers. It has a strong cider theme with beautiful Apple carvings in a carefully updated building. The menu was equally cider themed including a Thatchers cider sorbet.
We all tried a cider from the array of cider names. I chose a Katy cider which is a pale dry cider which certainly went well with my lunch.
In the afternoon there was time for a walk along the old Strawberry Line which passes through a lot of apple orchards en route.
The blossom was still out and they were quite a delight to see.
It looks like there is a chance of a good crop this year. So we might be back for another taster in the Autumn.
Mum was saying only yesterday that their apple trees are swathed in blossom this year. Fingers crossed for some decent apples! (They are often quite manky!)
ReplyDeleteYour pics are lovely and tell of a happy weekend. The tale of walking through the cider orchards reminded me of a walk I did in Kent with my old walking group some years ago. We had two Aussie members whose imaginations were caught by all the lovely fruiting trees we walked through. When we got to our lunch pub, they excitedly ordered cider and were given the choice of Strongbow or Magners. They were so crestfallen to discover there was no local scrumpy or anything that might even pass as such...! :o(
Such an interesting wedding invitation, it will be interesting to see our "passport" to a wedding will play out. A lovely through the apple orchard. Cannot wait to see & smell all the blossoms locally. Our crab apple trees are just waiting to blossom - hopefully this Sunday because it's Mother's Day here.
ReplyDeleteThat's a coincidence - a friend suggested that I look at the courses they hold at Barley Wood.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! You'll have to go shopping now..
ReplyDeleteAS always your photos bring me a very welcome breath of fresh country air. Have a good week Maggie
Exciting invitation! And those orchards look lovely.
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