Cider & Perry Events

Cider Festivals, Apple Days and Wassailing

This is a regularly updated list of events of interest to cider and perry afficiandos. Most are Cider Festivals (and Beer Festivals with cider offered), but there are various other events also included such as wassailing (January only, of course), Apple Days and the like. If you know of anything we have missed, please get in touch and let us know!

November | December | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October

November 2008

Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th November - 14th Watford Beer Festival, West Herts Sports Club, Park Avenue, Watford
Opening times: Thursday 4pm-11pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-11pm
Admission: £2.00. Admission free to CAMRA/EBCU membs/West Herts Sports Club members.
Details
: Over 60 real ales, cider & perry. Food available 5-9pm Thursday, 12-3pm/5pm-9pm Friday & Saturday.

Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th November - Belfast Beer & Cider Festival, Kings Hall Complex (Balmoral Hall), Lisburn Road, Belfast
Opening times: Thursday & Friday: noon-11pm. Saturday: 11am-11pm.
Admission: £5.00; discounted admission for CAMRA members.
Details
: Over 80 Real Ales plus large selection of Ciders and Perries. Wide selection of foods, pub games, tombola.

Friday 14th to Saturday 15th November - 26th Bury Beer Festival, The Met, Market Street, Bury BL9 0BW
Opening times: Friday: noon-4pm & 6pm-11pm; Saturday: noon-11pm.
Admission: Friday daytime £1.50; evening £4.00; Saturday £2.50. Admission free for Card-carrying CAMRA members.
Details
: 65 real ales plus ciders, perries, fruit wines and foreign bottled beers. Hot food available each session. £2.00 refundable glass deposit.

Tuesday 18th to Saturday 22nd November - 29th Rochford CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival, The Freight House, Bradley Way, Rochford, Essex SS4 1BU
Opening times
: Tue 5.30pm - 11pm; Wed/Thu 11.30am - 3pm and 5.30 - 11pm; Fri/Sat 11.30am - 11pm.
Admission: Free.
Details
: Over 200 Real Ales, over 35 Ciders, Foreign Beers and Specialised English Bottled Beer Bar. 70 beers from Bristol/Someset; 70 beers from East Anglia; 60 from the Best of the Rest. Food available at all sessions. A music-free festival.

Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd November - Whitchurch Beer Festival, Longmeadow Sports & Social Club, Winchester Road, Whitchurch, Hampshire
Opening times: Friday 7pm-11pm; Saturday 11.30am-3pm, 7pm-11.30pm; Sunday 12-3pm.
Admission: £3.00 (Friday and Saturday daytime); £5.00 (Saturday evening); free Sunday.

Details
: 20 beers and ciders with a focus on local/unusual beers. Food, quiet session, families welcome, entertainment (Jon Walsh Blues Band)
.

Friday 21st to Saturday 22nd November - Wantage Beer Festival, Masonic Hall, Alfred Street, Wantage OX12 8AN
Opening times: 11am-11pm
Admission: £2.00; £1.00 CAMRA members
Details
: Over 24 real ales, bottle conditioned beers, cider & perry. Hot and cold food available both days.

Wednesday 26th to Sunday 30th November - Winter Beer Festival at The Dove Street Inn, 76 St. Helens Street, Ipswich, IP4 2LA (01473 211270)
Opening times: standard pub opening times
Admission: free
Details
: Over 50 beers and milds, ciders and perries. Hot and cold food.

Thursday 27th to Saturday 23rd November - St Helens Beer Festival, North West Museum of Transport, Hall Street, St Helens, Lancashire
Opening times: Thursday: 7pm-11pm; Friday: noon-4pm & 6pm-11pm; Sat noon-4pm & 6pm-11pm.
Admission: £5.00 on the door; £3.00 for CAMRA members. No advance tickets.
Details
: Over 50 beers, plus ciders and perries. Entertainment on Thursday (The Big Fish); Friday (tbc) and Saturday (The Lazy River Jazz Band).

Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th November - Dudley Winter Ales Fayre, Dudley Concert Hall, St James Road, Dudley
Opening times: Thursday: 5.30pm-11pm; Friday: noon to 11pm; Saturday: noon to 11pm.
Admission: Thursday and Friday - £3.00; £1.00 for card-carrying CAMRA members. Saturday: £1.00;
free for card-carrying CAMRA members.

Details
: Over 75 real ales including winter beers, cider, wine and bottled beers. Hot and cold food available. Souvenir glass £2.00 including souvenir programme, fully refundable. Live entertainment.

 

December 2008

Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th December - Pig's Ear Beer & Cider Festival at Ocean, Mare Street, Hackney, London E8
Opening times: Tuesday to Thursday: noon-10.30pm; Friday & Saturday: noon-10pm
Admission: Tuesday-Thursday CAMRA members £2.00/non-members £3.00; Free entry Fri noon-2pm.
Details
: Over 100 Beers, Renowned Ciders, Bottled and Foreign Beer Bars.
Superb modern venue with ample seating. Choice of Food Stalls.

Tuesday 2nd December - Christmas Gift and Food Fair at The Cider Museum, 21 Ryelands Street, Hereford HR4 0LW (01432 354207)
Opening times: 10am to 5pm
Admission: Free
Details
: Stalls – craft, food and festive, Floral Demonstrations, Music, Mulled Cider and Mince pies.

Thursday 4th & Friday 5th December - Late Night Shopping Evenings at Weston's Cider, The Bounds, Much Marcle, Herefordshire HR8 2NQ
Details
: Choose original and flavoursome Christmas gifts for family and friends whilst stocking up your own cellars and cupboards for the festive season. The shop will stay open until 8pm each evening. Why not book into the Scrumpy House restaurant and make a full evening of it!

Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th December - 7th Harwich & Dovercourt Bay Winter Ale Festival at Kingsway Hall, Dovercourt, Essex
Opening times: 11am-11pm
Admission: £1.00, £2.00 after 6pm on Friday. Admission free to card-carrying CAMRA members all times.
Details
: Over 40 real ales (emphasis on dark and seasonal brews), also ciders and bottled continental beers. Souvenir half-pint tankards available. Live music Friday and Saturday evening. Food available at all sessions.

Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th December - Christmas Ale Festival, Lytton Arms, Park Lane, Old Knebworth, Hertfordshire SG3 6QB (01438 812312)
Opening times: standard pub opening times
Admission: free

Details
: Over 30 Christmas ales and ciders. BBQ and entertainment in heated marquee.

Thursday 11th & Friday 12th December - Late Night Shopping Evenings at Weston's Cider, The Bounds, Much Marcle, Herefordshire HR8 2NQ
Details
: Choose original and flavoursome Christmas gifts for family and friends whilst stocking up your own cellars and cupboards for the festive season. The shop will stay open until 8pm each evening. Why not book into the Scrumpy House restaurant and make a full evening of it!

January 2009

Saturday 3rd January - Wassailing in Shenley at Shenley Park, Radlett Lane, Shenley, Hertfordshire WD7 9DW (01923 852629)
Times: 6.30pm-8pm
Admission: Free (donations welcome)
Details
: Come Wassailing at Shenley Park. Meet at the Orchard Tea Room, come dressed in "old English Folk style clothing", bring a torch or lantern and something to make a noise with - such as a drum, a saucepan!, bells - anything you like.

Sunday 4th January - Twelfth Night with the Lion's Part Theatre Co. at Bankside by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London
Times: from 7.00pm
Admission: Free and accessible to all
Details
: Not a traditional wassail - and probably not a drop of cider to be seen - but it's the best the poor Londoners are going to get!
Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather. Contact: 0208 452 3866 or email info@thelionspart.co.uk.

  • The Holly Man from the Thames: To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man, the Winter guise of the Green Man (from our pub signs, pagan myths and folklore), decked in fantastic green garb and evergreen foliage, appears from the River Thames brought by the Thames Cutter, Master Shipbroker (subject to the weather).
  • The Bankside Wassails: With the crowd, led by the Bankside Mummers, the Holly Man will 'bring in the green' and 'wassail' or toast the people and the River Thames (an old tradition encouraging good growth) with our London Town Crier. The Globe will be wassailed in like fashion.
  • The Mummers Play: The Mummers will then process to the Bankside Jetty, and perform the traditional 'freestyle' Folk Combat Play of St. George, featuring the Turkey Sniper, Clever Legs, the Old 'Oss and many others, dressed in their spectacular 'guizes'. The play is full of wild verse and boisterous action, a time-honoured part of the season recorded from the Crusades.
  • King Bean and Queen Pea: cakes distributed at the end of the play have a Bean and a Pea hidden in two of them. Those who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony. They then lead the people through the streets to the historic George Inn in Borough High Street for a fine warming up with storytellng, the Kissing Wishing Tree and more dancing.

Tuesday 6th January 2009 - Wassail with Leominster Morris (venue to be confirmed)
Opening times: tbc
Admission: tbc

Details: On Twelfth Night come and join the dancers of the Leominster Morris for their annual offering to the wood goddess, Pomona. This ancient tradition brings a blessing on the county's orchards, thereby encouraging a bountiful crop during the following season.
See www.leominstermorris.co.uk or telephone Bagman Richard Wheeler on 01568 720426.

Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th January - 8th Derby Twelfth Night Winter Beer Festival at Darwin Suite, Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Derby
Opening times: Thursday: 6pm-11pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-4pm & 5pm-11pm
Admission: Thursday: £4.00/CAMRA members free.
Friday & Saturday day sessions £2.00/CAMRA members free; evening sessions £6.00/CAMRA members £2.00.
Student Concessions on production of appropriate Student Card. Tickets on sale for the Friday and Saturday evening sessions at the beginning of December from the Derby CAMRA website and the Flowerpot Pub in Derby (£1 discount with advance tickets available from Flowerpot from 1/12/8).
Details: Over 90 real ales, Ciders, Perries and foreign bottled beers with a unique Festival Special. Live entertainment at all evening sessions. Souvenir glasses, t-shirts and programme available. Hot and cold food each session. Entertainment each evening: Verbal Warning (Thursday); Blur/Kaiser Chiefs tribute (Friday); Killers tribute (Saturday).

Friday 9th January - Wassail at Waggon & Horses and the Community Orchard, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire
Times: 7.00pm
Admission: Free
Details
: Wassailing was first celebrated in January 2002, the event is now held annually at the Community Orchard usually on the 2nd Friday of January. Wassail Evening starts at the Waggon & Horses in Hartley Wintney High Street with a short performance by Hook Eagle Morris Men. Wassailers then make their way in a torchlight procession, led by local Scouts and Hook Eagle Morris Men to the Orchard a few minutes walk away where, fortified by locally produced sustenance and the contents of the Wassail Cup, Wassailers ‘Wassail’ an adjacent apple tree before returning with musical accompaniment, to the Waggon & Horses where, traditionally, the group enter by the back door, toast the landlord and depart from the front door. Starts 7pm at the Waggon & Horses. Contact the Parish Council for further details on 01252 845152.

Friday 9th and Saturday 10th January - Exeter & East Devon 20th Festival of Winter Ales at Lower Exhibition Hall, Exeter University, Exeter
Opening times: 11am-11pm
Admission: £2.00 CAMRA members; £3.00 non-members. Free before 5pm on Friday.

Details
: Over 60 winter-only ales and festive ciders. Commemorative festival glass £1.00 extra. Hot and cold food available at all sessions. Live entertainment Saturday evening only. No advanced tickets.

Saturday 10th January - Isca Morris Men Wassail at The Ostrich Inn, Newland, Monmouth GL16 8NP
Opening times: 8pm
Admission: Free
Details
: A traditional cider wassail based on the Ostrich Inn at Newland, just to the south of Monmouth. The wassail begins at around 8.45pm

Saturday 17th January - Charity Wassail at Rich's Farmhouse Cider, Mill Farm, Watchfield, Highbridge, Somerset TA9 4RD (01278 783651)
Opening times: 8pm
Admission: tbc

Details: On the real Twelfth Night come and join Scrumpy & Western band The Mangledwurzels to serenade the orchards of Rich's Cider Farm.

Saturday 17th January - Wassail at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury (01458 831197)
Opening times: 7.30pm-9.30pm.
Admission: £7.50 adult £4.50 child. Please book tickets in advance
from Glastonbury Tourist Information Centre.
Details
:
A celebration of Old Twelfth Night with wassailing in the cider orchard and dancing in the Abbey Barn. Music by Rapscallion.

Saturday 17th January - West Croft Wassail at West Croft Cider, West Croft Farm, Brent Knoll, Burnham on Sea, Somerset (01278 760762)
Opening times: tbc
Admission: Free (donations to charity)
Details
:
West Croft Wassail is a traditional Wassial which includes Pig Roast, Mulled Cider, Apple Cake, selection of West Croft ciders and candlelight procession ceremony. Raising money for children's cancer charity.

Thursday 21st to Saturday 24th January - National Winter Ales Festival 2009 at New Century Hall, Manchester
Opening times: Wednesday & Thuursday: 4pm-10.30pm; Friday & Saturday: noon-10.30pm.
Admission: £3.00 entry all sessions except Wednesday (£2.00) and Friday evening (£5.00 from 5pm). Discounts for CAMRA members. Wednesday & Thuursday £1.00 discount for NUS/OAP (with valid ID). Tickets available on door.
Details
: Over 200 Beers, inc some foreign, Cider and Perry and RAIB. CAMRA products shop, t-shirt & poster shop, tombola and engraving. Families welcome. Food available. Wednesday entertainment: The Frank White Band; Saturday entertainment: Doctor Busker. Saturday
: Pirate theme fancy dress day (optional); prizes to be won!

Saturday 24th January - Chepston Wassail and Mari Lwyd at various locations in Chepstow
Opening times: 2pm onwards
Admission: Free
Details
:
Proceedings start 2pm at the Bridge Inn and Three Tuns pubs in Lower Chepstow with Morris dancing, folk music and beer festival, with a marquee at the bandstand. Later, around 5.30pm there will be a Wassail held at Elmdale, a meeting of Welsh and English on the Old Town Bridge around 7pm and a Mari Lwyd at Chepstow Castle.
There are also plans for a children's Mari Lwyd at the Bandstand in the afternoon.

Monday 26th January - The Three Counties Cider and Perry Association AGM at Westons Bottle Museum, Much Marcle
Opening times: 7.30pm
Details: tbc

Thursday 29th to Saturday 31st January - 20th Bent & Bongs Beer Bash at Formby Hall, Atherton, Lancashire
Opening times: Thusday 6-11pm; Friday 5-11pm; Saturday noon-4pm, 7-11pm
Admission: Thusday £4.00; Friday £6.00; Saturday £4.00 per session.
CAMRA members £1 discount. No advance tickets. To avoid queues, arrive before 6.30pm on Friday and before 1.30pm on Saturday.
Details
: 70 real ales, Ciders and draught foreign lagers. Admission includes commemorative glass and programme. Live Entertainment with all proceeds to charity.

Friday 30th & Saturday 31st January 2009 - 1st Bristol Winter Cider Festival at Brunel Passenger Shed, British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Station Approach, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QH
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm; Saturday 11.00am-4pm & 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission:
Tickets £6.00 in advance; more on the door. Any unsold tickets will be made available on the door - but buying your tickets in advance is highly recommended as this sold out last year. Tickets on sale from the Pavilion Box Office soon.
Details
:
The 1st Bristol Cider Festival was a great success, so CiderFestival.co.uk have booked the awesome Brunel Passenger Shed at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum in Temple Meads, Bristol for two cider festivals in 2009. The end of January sees the first, another epic two-day cider festival to kick those post-Christmas blues away. On offer will be over 80 ciders and perries including award-winning ciders from Ben Crossman's, Rich's, Thatchers, Broadoak and Heck's (Somerset), Weston's and Gwatkin (Herefordshire), Gwynt Y Ddraig (Wales), and Mr. Whiteheads (Hampshire) - as well as hog roast rolls and hot dogs, and a range of soft drinks for the drivers.
As well as the cider and perry, the Bristol Cider Festival will offer the best in local entertainment. Somerset's premier Wurzels tribute band
The Mangledwurzels will be playing a full show at all three sessions (no more Meatloaf!), providing their own brand of Wurzels-flavoured, cider-fuelled Scrumpy & Western madness to help you drink up thy cider. The Mangledwurzels have played at all CiderFestivals.co.uk festivals across the country from Norwich to Swansea - and are guaranteed to entertain.

Friday 30th to Saturday 31st January - Salisbury Winterfest XII at Castle Street Social Club, Scots Lane, Salisbury
Opening times: Friday: 6.30pm-11pm; Saturday: 11am-3.30pm & 6.30pm-11pm.
Admission: All tickets £5.00; card-carrying CAMRA members receive beer tokens.
Details
: 21 seasonal real ales and (for first time) cider. Ticket including souvenir programme. No music. Food available at all sessions. Tickets by post from: ‘Winterfest', 84 Downsway, Salisbury, SP1 3QW; phone 01722 331134 with enquiries. Please enclose SAE, state which sessions and make cheques payable to 'Salisbury & S.Wilts CAMRA'.

February 2009

Thursday 5th to Saturday 7th February 2009 - 5th Pendle Beer Festival at Colne Municipal Hall, Colne, Lancashire
Opening times: tbc (2008 - Thursday 6pm-11pm, Friday: noon-11pm, Saturday: noon-11pm)
Admission: tbc (2008 - Friday £4.00 after 6pm; all other sessions £2.00. CAMRA members free all sessions.)
Details
: Over 65 real ales, cider, perry and bottled beers. Festival Glass. Food available all sessions. Live music every evening. Balcony seating all sessions. Disabled access. Children welcome lunchtimes. Soft drinks for drivers.

Friday 13th & Saturday 14th February 2009 - 3rd Bath Cider Festival at Bath Pavilion, Bath
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm; Saturday 11.00am-4pm & 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission:
Tickets £6.00 in advance; more on the door. Any unsold tickets will be made available on the door - but buying your tickets in advance is highly recommended as over 500 people were turned away at the doors at the 2008 Bath Cider Festival, which sold out on both days. Tickets on sale from the Pavilion Box Office now.
Details
:
The 3rd Bath Cider Festival sees the return to the Bath Pavilion, the home of Cider Festivals.co.uk for another epic two-day cider festival. On offer will be over 80 ciders and perries including award-winning ciders from Ben Crossman's, Rich's, Thatchers, Broadoak and Heck's (Somerset), Weston's and Gwatkin (Herefordshire), Gwynt Y Ddraig (Wales), and Mr. Whiteheads (Hampshire) - as well as hog roast rolls and hot dogs, and a range of soft drinks for the drivers.
As well as the cider and perry, the Bristol Cider Festival will offer the best in local entertainment. Somerset's premier Wurzels tribute band
The Mangledwurzels will be playing a full show at all three sessions as usual, providing their own brand of Wurzels-flavoured, cider-fuelled Scrumpy & Western madness to help you drink up thy cider. The Mangledwurzels have played at all CiderFestivals.co.uk festivals across the country from Norwich to Swansea - and are guaranteed to entertain.

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th June 2009 - 23rd Great Grampian Beer Festival (CAMRA Aberdeen & North East), Richard Donald Stand, Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen AB24 5QH
Opening times: Thursday 4pm-midnight, Friday 3pm-midnight & Saturday noon-11pm
Admission: £3.00 CAMRA members and £5.00 non-members
Details
: Festival will feature 75+ cask beers plus a smaller selection of cider, perry and bottled beers. Quiet sessions are guaranteed. Aberdeen FC's catering contractor will be doing the food.

July 2009

Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th July 2009 - International Craft Cider & Perry Festival at Abergavenny Castle, Monmouthshire, Wales (venue tbc)
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm; Saturday 11.00am-4pm & 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission: tbc
Details
: tbc

Friday 31st July 2009 - Bath Cricket Club Cider Festival at Bath Cricket Club, North Parade, Bridge Road, Bath BA2 4EX
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission: tbc
Details
:
Part of the Bath Cricket Club 150th Anniversary Celebrations. On offer will be over 60 ciders and perries including award-winning ciders from Ben Crossman's, Rich's, Thatchers, Broadoak and Heck's (Somerset), Weston's and Gwatkin (Herefordshire), Gwynt Y Ddraig (Wales), and Mr. Whiteheads (Hampshire) - as well as hog roast rolls and hot dogs, and a range of soft drinks for the drivers.
As well as the cider and perry, the Bristol Cider Festival will offer the best in local entertainment. Somerset's premier Wurzels tribute band The Mangledwurzels will be playing a full show at all three sessions (no more Meatloaf!), providing their own brand of Wurzels-flavoured, cider-fuelled Scrumpy & Western madness to help you drink up thy cider. The Mangledwurzels have played at all CiderFestivals.co.uk festivals across the country from Norwich to Swansea - and are guaranteed to entertain.

August 2009

Friday 7th & Saturday 8th August 2009 - 2st Bristol Cider Festival at Brunel Passenger Shed, British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Station Approach, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QH
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm; Saturday 11.00am-4pm & 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission:
tbc
Details
:
The 1st Bristol Cider Festival was a great success, so CiderFestival.co.uk have booked the awesome Brunel Passenger Shed at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum in Temple Meads, Bristol for two cider festivals in 2009. This is the second, another epic two-day cider festival. On offer will be over 80 ciders and perries including award-winning ciders from Ben Crossman's, Rich's, Thatchers, Broadoak and Heck's (Somerset), Weston's and Gwatkin (Herefordshire), Gwynt Y Ddraig (Wales), and Mr. Whiteheads (Hampshire) - as well as hog roast rolls and hot dogs, and a range of soft drinks for the drivers.
As well as the cider and perry, the Bristol Cider Festival will offer the best in local entertainment. Somerset's premier Wurzels tribute band
The Mangledwurzels will be playing a full show at all three sessions (no more Meatloaf!), providing their own brand of Wurzels-flavoured, cider-fuelled Scrumpy & Western madness to help you drink up thy cider. The Mangledwurzels have played at all CiderFestivals.co.uk festivals across the country from Norwich to Swansea - and are guaranteed to entertain.

September 2009

Friday 4th to Sunday 6th September - Ross Cider Festival at Broome Farm, Peterstow, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 6QG (01989 567232)
Opening times: tbc
Admission: tbc
Details
: tbc

October 2009

tbc October 2009 - 2nd Bath Autumn Cider Festival at Bath Pavilion, Bath
Opening times: Friday 7.30pm-11.30pm; Saturday 11.00am-4pm & 7.30pm-11.30pm
Admission: tbc
Details
: tbc

 
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