Cider is experiencing a golden age in the UK. While mass-produced cider has long been a staple of British drinking, the craft cider movement has brought renewed attention to traditional methods, heritage apple varieties, and the orchards that produce them. The UK's cider festivals and orchard events celebrate this tradition and innovation, from ancient wassailing ceremonies in midwinter to summer festivals that showcase the diversity of British cider making.
Wassailing: the oldest orchard tradition
Wassailing is an ancient tradition held in cider orchards during January, typically on Twelfth Night (6th January) or Old Twelfth Night (17th January). The ceremony involves singing to the apple trees, making noise to ward off evil spirits, and pouring cider onto the roots of the oldest tree to encourage a good harvest. Toast soaked in cider is placed in the branches for the robins, who are considered guardians of the orchard.
Many working cider orchards in Somerset, Herefordshire, Devon, and Gloucestershire hold public wassail events. These typically include the ceremony itself, cider tasting, food, live music, and often Morris dancing. The atmosphere is festive and slightly pagan, combining community celebration with agricultural tradition. Notable wassail events take place at Thatchers Cider in Sandford, Somerset, and at Lyme Regis in Dorset.
Major cider festivals
CAMRA Cider and Perry Month (October)
CAMRA designates October as Cider and Perry Month, with participating pubs across the UK offering expanded cider and perry selections and hosting tasting events. Many CAMRA beer festivals held in October feature substantial cider and perry bars, and some branches organise dedicated cider festivals. This nationwide celebration is the easiest way to explore the diversity of British cider without travelling to a dedicated festival.
Ross Cider Festival, Herefordshire
Herefordshire is one of the UK's great cider-making regions, and Ross-on-Wye's annual cider festival celebrates the county's tradition with tastings, orchard tours, and talks from local cider makers. The festival typically takes place over a weekend in the autumn and offers an excellent introduction to Herefordshire cider, which tends toward drier, more tannic styles than its Somerset counterpart.
Bath Cider Festival
The Bath Cider Festival brings together producers from across the West Country and beyond, offering hundreds of ciders and perries for tasting. The city's beautiful setting makes this a particularly enjoyable event, with the festival typically held at a central venue over a weekend. Sessions are ticketed and include a tasting glass and programme.
Apple Day events
Apple Day, celebrated on 21st October, was created by Common Ground in 1990 to celebrate the diversity of British apples and the orchards that grow them. Events take place at orchards, community gardens, farmers' markets, and country parks across the UK. Typical Apple Day activities include apple identification services (bring your mystery apples to be identified by a pomologist), apple pressing demonstrations, longest peel competitions, and tasting tables featuring dozens of heritage apple varieties.
Apple Day events are usually free or very low cost and are wonderfully family-friendly. They offer a genuine connection to Britain's pomological heritage at a time when many traditional orchards are under threat from development. The campaign to protect and celebrate orchards has been one of the quiet success stories of British conservation. For other seasonal outdoor events, our family events guide includes autumn activities.
Orchard tours and farm experiences
Many cider makers now open their orchards and production facilities to visitors, offering tours that take you from tree to glass. In Somerset, producers such as Burrow Hill Cider (which also distils Somerset Cider Brandy) and Sheppy's Cider welcome visitors throughout the year. In Herefordshire, Westons Cider offers factory tours and has a visitor centre with a museum of cider-making equipment.
Smaller craft producers are also increasingly welcoming visitors, though often by appointment rather than on a drop-in basis. Visiting a working cider farm during pressing season (October to December) is especially rewarding, as you can see the whole process from apple to juice. Some farms allow visitors to help with pressing, creating a genuinely hands-on experience.
Perry: cider's refined cousin
Perry, made from fermented pear juice, is a traditional drink of the Three Counties (Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire) that deserves far more attention than it receives. True perry is made from specific perry pear varieties, many of which are found only in old orchards in these counties. The drink is lighter and more delicate than cider, and the best examples are genuinely exquisite.
The Big Apple association in Herefordshire organises events that celebrate both cider and perry, including blossomtime walks in spring and harvest celebrations in autumn. These events are an excellent way to discover perry and the landscapes that produce it. The perry pear trees of the Three Counties, some of which are centuries old, are a living heritage that these events help to protect.
Cider in the wider food and drink scene
Cider is increasingly featured at food festivals and events across the UK, reflecting its growing status as a drink to be taken seriously alongside wine and craft beer. Food pairing events, cider dinners, and tastings led by knowledgeable cider makers are becoming more common. The Campaign for Real Ale includes cider and perry in its advocacy work, and many CAMRA festivals feature impressive cider selections. For a broader look at drinks events, our craft beer festivals guide covers events that often feature cider too.
Getting involved
If cider interests you beyond drinking it, community orchards offer opportunities to get involved in growing and pressing. Many towns and villages have community orchards that welcome volunteers for planting, pruning, harvesting, and pressing. Learning to make cider at home is a rewarding autumn project, and several cider makers offer short courses covering the basics. For discovering orchards and cider events in your area, our local events finder is a useful starting point.
From the ancient ritual of wassailing to the modern craft cider movement, the UK's orchard culture is rich, diverse, and very much alive. The festivals and events celebrating cider, perry, and apples connect us to the landscape, the seasons, and a tradition of making that stretches back centuries. Raise a glass of real cider and drink to that.
