Museum Of Cider

The Museum of Cider is dedicated to the fascinating history of cider. There's lots to discover about this drink - from fine 18th century glasses to pub pints. Visitors mistakenly think the museum is small when they arrive but change their minds once here! The building itself is an unique survival, a former cider factory dating back to 1889. The cellars are extensive and displays of original equipment show the method used to make what was called 'champagne cider' by Bulmer's.

This is the crucible in which important cider developments were made until the 1970s when it was offered to the Hereford Cider Museum Trust. Today the museum tells the story of cidermaking nationally from the 17th century onwards and a well-stocked artisan/craft cider shop bring us up to the present day. The displays include stone mills and wheeled cider presses, drinking vessels, paintings, rare books, the former Bulmer Boardroom, a cooper's workshop, bottling hall and pub memorabilia which may have you recalling happy days.

Visitors can wander round at their own pace, or booked in groups can add an engrossing guided tour which takes 45-60 minutes, and/or a tutored cider tasting with local award-winning cidermakers, which can take about an hour. There is the giftshop and the tearoom on the ground floor, and the meeting rooms upstairs can be booked separately.

Herefordshire is a county with a lot to offer, and cidermakers such as Newton Court, Gwatkins and Little Pomona have centres worth visiting if you extend your stay. Other cidermakers also have great shops, like Ross Cider and Perry, Olivers and Ty Gwyn. Horse-led milling can be seen at Fairoak Cider in autumn. The museum helps put all of this in context, and is an excellent start point to appreciate the significance of Herefordshire in drink history and the present day.

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Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30 to 4.30. Admission: £7.50, children free. Group bookings over 15 people: £7.00 per person, guide extra. Free carparking onsite, and one coach bay outside the museum. For more information www.cidermuseum.co.uk or for groups, bookings@cidermuseum.co.uk