The first time a drop of alcohol touched my lips was when my grandpa handed me a very small glass of medium dry cider when I was about 14 years old at Christmas time. I remember it well. It was tangy and smokey and different to anything I had ever tasted before. I liked it. This was apple juice, but for grownups. I felt cool and badly behaved, but in a good way.
My great auntie Molly noticed, and she spoke words a little something like these – ‘Careful, not too much. It’s very potent!’. Her words were sharp like the cider in the glass in my hand, aimed a little at me, but mostly at my grandpa, warning him not to give me too much.
From that day on my love of cider has grown and grown. Like apple blossom joyously bursting open in the spring sunshine, something bloomed within my heart when I first tasted cider. For me cider is a reminder of home, of celebrations that come with the seasons. It is always my drink of choice. A drink that finds itself into my hand during the best moments. From family get-togethers to music festivals and camping trips with friends, it is the perfect accompaniment to the good times.
When my partner, Simon, stumbled across a cider tour and tasting experience at an organic cider farm in Dorset, my eyes lit up. Not only was this a cider-related fun thing to do, but it was organic cider, which is even better, and it was an opportunity to learn more about the drink that’s so special to me, while camping on an orchard.
Dorset Nectar
Dorset Nectar is located north of Bridport in the rolling hills of Dorset’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Hidden away down narrow country lanes, Pineapple Lane to be precise, you’ll find the family run orchard. Here they grow 3000 apple trees of 15 different varieties, some of which are native to that specific area of the country.
Within the farm grounds is a fairly large cider mill and a tasting room and shop where you can try the delicious cider and purchase bottles to take home. They also produce and sell organic apple juice and gourmet live enzyme cider vinegar.
Tip: Watch out for the farm’s resident Goose! He’s a bit feisty and will chase after you!
What’s more, there is a pretty sculpture garden outside the tasting room and they’ve recently started allowing visitors to stay and camp on the orchard. Opening the farm up for camping has been a business shift and in my opinion a spark of genius, to help the farm recover after a hard year due to the pandemic. Before covid-19, Dorset Nectar’s main business was supplying cider to local pubs and restaurants, but due to closures, they lost a lot of that business. They’ve turned to tourism to help create a new stream of revenue while they pick the business back up.
You can pitch your tent between the rows of apple trees, so alongside booking our tour and tasting experience we also spent two nights camping at the farm.
The cider tour and tasting experience
Overall I throughly enjoyed the tour and tasting experience and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about cider. Below is an overview of what we learnt on the day.
Working with nature
Dorset Nectar is the perfect example of how farming with nature can be done right and successfully. The south-facing location of the orchard means the apple trees get plenty of sun, and they also benefit from the prevailing winds from the south. As they make their way over from the Atlantic, across the Jurassic coast, towards the orchard, the Southerly winds play a role in pollination during the months of spring when the orchard turns pink and white with blossom. Ventilation also prevents mould growth by blowing away the spores of unwanted fungus.
It’s not just the location and weather that’s important for the success of the orchard, it’s the local wildlife too. There are a number of beehives present on the farm, as bees play a vital role in pollination. The wind is not good enough at this on it’s own, so the bees ensure enough pollination occurs. Without pollination, there wouldn’t be any apples.
The farm also works with a local beekeeper, who brings additional bees to the orchards in the spring to ensure there are plenty of bees to pollinate all 3000 trees! The bees will be brought to the orchard, but not released for a day or two in order for them to get their bearings before they are set free among the apple trees. This is because, if they do not aclimatise to their new surroundings they can become disorientated and attempt to return to their usual habitat back home.
Dorset Nectar is a Soil Association certified farm, meaning they have to adhere to strict rules around the use of pesticides and fertilisers. They do not use any, and instead rely on nature for natural pest control. Wild birds help to control caterpillars and other insects that might otherwise munch away at the leaves in the summer or the apples in the autumn.
During the winter months, a ceremony called the Apple Wassail is held on the farm. This is a tradition dating back hundreds of years, practiced in the cider orchards of southern England during the winter. It is essentially a noisy and lively celebration, originally carried out to ward off evil spirits so that they can ensure a good crop in the autumn. During the Wassail, offerings are given to the trees, usually in the form of bread. This entices birds to the orchard, and the birds eat the bread along with any other pesky creatures that might cause havoc to the trees.
Read more about why organic farming is so important
The fermentation process
The apples are left to ripen fully on the branches before they are harvested. After the apples begin to fall to the ground, the trees are then shaken so the branches release any remaining ripe apples. The grounds of the orchard, now a sea of shiny red and green spheres are now ready to be collected.
The farm uses a small apple collecting vehicle that makes its way down the aisles of apple trees, gobbling up all the fallen apples in its path. The apples are then transported to the cider mill for pressing.
During fermentation, nothing artificial is added. Only the natural yeasts and sugars present in the apples are required for fermentation, so it’s a completely natural process. It takes around 5 months for the apples to ferment. The longer the fermentation takes, the better the cider. Cold, crisp winters play a part in slowing the fermentation process down, which results in a better product.
Taste the Nectar
Dorset Nectar produces a range of delicious, full flavoured, whole juice ciders. The main product is a traditional dry cider. There are sweeter alternatives to choose from as well, such as the delightful elderflower cider, produced using an organic cordial from a local supplier. There is also ginger cider, which tastes similar to ginger beer. There are lots to choose from.
During our tour and tasting experience we tried four of the ciders the farm produces. We started off with a medium dry sparkling cider, followed by a medium sweet cider, then the elderflower and ginger flavoured varieties.
Tip: If you buy a box of 12 ciders you save yourself about £5 (but don’t hold me to that, as prices and offers can always change.)
Find out more about the tour and tasting experience
We purchased a box of 12 ciders, a long with the apple juice and the apple cider vinegar. I love using apple cider vinegar in salad dressings. It’s also really good in my epic cashew cheese sauce, so I’ll definitley be using the cider vinegar from Dorset Nectar to make a batch!
Camping on the orchard
We arrived towards the end of a heatwave. It was a week of what felt like meditteranean sunshine, with temperatures reaching into the high 20s (celcius). The weather was on the turn, but it was pleasant and still very warm. After making our arrival known, we proceeded to select a row of apple trees to pitch our weekend home. The camping pitches are not allocated, you just choose whichever takes your fancy.
Scenes of lush green grass and golden beams of light piercing through the branches of the apple trees greeted us as we parked and unpacked the car. We have a comfortable four person tent from , which we love. It’s super easy to put up because of it’s all-in-one inflatable structure with a pre-assembled bedroom and flysheet. Although you cannot stand up fully once inside, it’s still not the smallest tent, but it only took about 5 minutes to assemble. We were able to get settled quickly with minimal effort. This is probably the fifth camping trip where we’ve had this tent and it’s always been brilliant and really comfortable for the two of us.
The sleeping compartment stayed completely bug free throughout the weekend and the porch area was the perfect place to shelter from the rain when the thunderstorms finally arrived. It was actually really lovely listening to the rain patter down on the polyester, while relaxing in a comfy camping chair, sipping a delicious organic cider.
Unfortunately no longer sell the exact tent we have, but they sell similar for only a small investment. I would highly recommend getting one as it saves so much time and energy.
Currently there are 14 available pitches on the tranquil orchard. The campsite is adults only, for those aged 21+, so it’s a great place to kick back and relax away from the kids if you’re a parent. Likewise for those of us who are child-free, you can rest assured there won’t be any screaming children about.
Unfortunately when we were there, there were a few loud groups, who were repeatedly told to quieten down throughout the course of both nights that we were there. We found this hugely disrespectful to the owners and to the other guests. There is an 11pm curfew for noise, which is the same countrywide, so there is no excuse not to abide by this rule. We just put this down to us being unlucky to be sharing our weekend with them and would still highly recommend staying here to anyone. We loved it so much that we are very keen to go back again in future.
There are pleanty of toilets and showers available on site. We used the shower and toilet around the side of the tasting room, which was great. I believe some of the faciliites will soon be getting an upgrade, as some of the toilets are poraloos, but there are plans to build new permanent toilet facilities in their place.
There are local takeaways that will deliver food to the campsite if you don’t fancy cooking. There is also the Hare & Hounds a 10 minute walk away serving tradiational pub food. But if you’re in the mood to cook, there are fire pits and a pizza oven available for campers to use.
Exploring near by
West Bay
After setting up camp we decided to head to West Bay for dinner, which is only a 15 minute drive from the farm. We had dinner at a restaurant called Rise, which sits on it’s own little island where the River Brit meets the harbour. We braved the potential risk of getting drenched by the approaching rain and sat outside facing the water, watching the gulls bath themselves in the fresh river water. Luckily the clouds didn’t burst and we stayed dry.
I was pleasantly surprised by the food. I had the Vegan Burger. The mung bean, spring onion & bean sprout patty was really flavoursome and different from your usual veggie burger and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Simon had the Mac & Cheese with bacon. It smelt divine, of truffled panko breadcrumbs. He also really enjoyed his meal.
After dinner we headed to the beach to admire the evening light. The clouds hovering above the horizon had turned a deep grey and the sunlight had become a concentrated glowing amber. We walked slowly over the dusty shingle. With every step, dust would rise into a glowing haze, as if in slow motion, as we made our way towards to ocean.
Behind the beach, tall cliffs that hold part of the South West Coast Path had turned from their usual chalky white to gold in the evening sun. A very steep path takes you up to the cliff top directly from the beach, so we decided to head up for a better view of the beach and town and the angry looking weather on the horizon. The path feels almost vertical as you climb. Our legs felt lazy and out of practise, but it was a great workout with a rewarding view.
The sun was determined to fight against the thunderstorm, piercing the clouds with sharp rays, setting the sky on fire. It was dramatic and beautiful. Then a rumble in the distance warned us to head back down to safer ground. Our descent was much quicker than our climb, almost rolling head first we scrambled down at pace. With a final leap we hit the shingle and proceeded to take a seat and watch the beginning of nature’s light show. A horizontal zigzag of lightning shot across the ashen sky as the golden light to our right intensified, before eventually disappearing to make way for the night.
It was our call to return to the campsite for the evening, and we made our way back across the beach to our car.
The rain didn’t arrive for quite a few hours, so we enjoyed some time outside our tent, sipping cider as we listened to the bellows and rumbles in the distance. It was a very slow moving storm. I felt nervous for the night ahead of us, afraid that lightning might come crashing down towards us while we attempted to sleep. I actually made Simon sit in the car with me once the lightning finally arrived just before midnight. It was still not right above us, but I let anxiety get the better of me.
Thunderstorms are usually my favourite weather to witness. A reminder of the sheer power of nature, that it’s not to be messed with. They make you feel small and powerless in a strangely comforting way. From the safety of bricks and mortar there is nothing to worry about, but tents do not offer any protection from lightning. This played on my mind, making it impossible to fall asleep, not to mention the hammering rain, but thankfully our trusty tent held out and we stayed dry.
Lyme Regis
Also known as ‘The Pearl of Dorset’ the pretty town of Lyme Regis is only a 30 minute drive from Dorset Nectar. I spent many summer holidays as a child on the sands of Lyme Regis and Monmouth Beach, but hadn’t been back for years. It was the perfect opportunity to revisit a family favourite holiday destination, and so we decided to head west on the Saturday afternoon after our cider tour and tasting experience.
We had lunch at The Galley Cafe as we wanted something small and not too expensive. They serve a variety of sandwiches and salads as well as hot snacks such as pastries. They also serve breakfasts all day.
The cafe’s interior is relaxed surf chic, inspired by founder Keian Gillet, a passionate boardrider and chef. Blue and white paneled walls are decorated with a collection of surfboards and other nods to the ocean in the form of art and photography – a celebration of south west coast surf culture and an expression of love for the beach and the sea.
The town of Lyme Regis is made up of colourful terraced houses, boutiques, and fossil shops, intertwined with the River Lim. It’s lovely walking along The Lynch, with waterways on either side of you that border the picturesque houses. The path will take you down past The Town Mill, to Mill Lane. Here you’ll find Lyme Regis Brewery, and a tap room based in the old Malthouse.
Along Marine parade, you’ll find a tempting array of ice-cream shops and pastel painted beach huts that line the beach – it’s the epitome of British seaside resort.
Walk down the parade to the sandy end of the beach. This leads onto The Cobb, a small marina filled with little rowing boats and larger sailing boats. From here you can book fishing trips if that’s your thing, or simply enjoy a stroll along past the lobster cages, to the end of the walkway for a great view of the town and the beach.
Behind Sandy Beach, steps will take you up the sloping banks to Langmoor and Lister gardens. The elevated gardens offer far reaching panoramic views across the coastal landscape and a peaceful retreat away from the often busy beaches below.
Bridport
Before we headed back home on Sunday, we headed into Bridport for breakfast after checking out of the farm campsite. We had hoped to go to Soulshine, a Restaurant and Cafe that serves locally sourced food, with plenty of vegan options. Unfortunately on the day we arrived, it was closed, so instead we headed to Red Brick Cafe and stumbled upon a vintage market in the process!
It happened to be the last Sunday of the Month, so the market was on. We were pleasantly surprised by the Red Brick Cafe. One of the waitresses sat us on a table out the front to begin with, but it wasn’t undercover and it started to rain, so we asked to move into the covered garden. It’s quite a quirky, topsy turvey place, with a ton of character, as you would expect from a place that’s nestled amongst antique shops. The staff were friendly and the food and coffee were great! I had a vegan breakfast, which was a bean burrito with baked beans on the side. A slightly odd combination, but tasty none-the less!
After breakfast, we browsed the market stalls and meandered our way around the antique shops before making our way back to the car for the journey home.
If you’re looking for a great UK camping destination and love cider, Dorset Nectar is the place for you! For more information about the campsite and how to book, visit this page on their website. What’s more, by camping on the orchard (and purchasing their artisan creations) you’ll be helping to support a great business with a great ethos.
I hope you’ve found some inspiration for your next trip to the Jurassic coast!
Have a beautiful day.
~ Faine
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I am not being sponsored by Dorset Nectar for this post.