3 weeks Ago
The first thing I noted on my trip to Dunham Apples this weekend struck me before I even arrived – the quiet. It wasn’t until my taxi driver pointed it out that I realised I hadn’t seen another car on the road since we left Altrincham. A good thing too, as the small country lanes don’t offer much room to manoeuvre.
The rustic Back Lane bridge admits only one car at a time with a fit so snug I was concerned my driver was going to damage his Kia Niro. View from the front orchard (Image: All images Daniel Dougherty) Dunham Apples is a farm located in Dunham Massey – just west of Altrincham - which produces a range of award-winning ciders and juices. They’ve been in the cider business since 2010, and in 2021 opened their Apple Barn cafe bar, allowing them to sell their product on site.
I was here to visit as they prepared for their upcoming ‘Blossom Tours’, a chance for people to tour the orchard while all 6,000 apple trees are in full bloom. Visitors will also get to experience a guided tasting session of the farms very own ciders, with freshly made garlic bread courtesy of chef Mike Collins. Pink petals (Image: Daniel Dougherty) Dunham Apples was originally known as ‘Boundary Farm’, belonging to the Earl of Stamford, whose peerage included dominion over the lands of which the farm forms a part.
The land is currently owned by the National Trust , to whom Roger Grey, the 10th Earl of Stamford, entrusted the lands before his death in 1976 at 79. Since 1938, however, the land has been under the stewardship of the Hewitt family, who operate as tenant farmers. Chris Hewitt with Labrador Honey (Image: Daniel Dougherty) The cider production is currently headed by husband-and-wife team Chris and Alison Hewitt alongside a small team of people, including my host for the first part of the afternoon, Henry Barlow.
Henry grew up in the area and now performs a social media and outreach role for the farm, helping to plan new events and promote them online. And so it was, a pint of the farm’s delicious Dunham Disco cider in hand, that we began our tour. First stop was the front orchard, where rows of apple trees spread out in each direction like a labyrinth.
Discovery apple tree (Image: Daniel Dougherty) One of the first trees we see is a Discovery Apple tree – the very apples that went into the pint I was drinking. Only a few trees were in bloom, but still I got the impression that this will look seriously impressive when everything has blossomed. Near the back of the orchard, I could see that one of the trees was decked out in bits of string, which Henry explained was due to the recent ‘Wassail’.
Tree with string from the Wassail (Image: Daniel Dougherty) Wassailing is an ancient pagan tradition – still practiced across the UK – of visiting an orchard in winter to sing to the trees, which it is said helps promote a good harvest. As well as singing and cider, the tradition involves tying slices of toast to the branches as a gift to the tree spirits, explaining the string. Dunham Apples hosts a Wassail every year in January, with 240 attendees at the most recent edition.
Wassail pictures (Image: Daniel Dougherty) The Wassail forms the winter portion of their seasonal schedule, and anyone is welcome attend. From the front orchard we cross the road into the rear part of the farm, passing several families on the benches who were enjoying a drink in the sunshine. Henry shows me some ‘Heritage’ apple trees – older, rarer types of apple that have been grown natively on British soil for centuries.
Dotted around the trees were several beehives, which help promote pollination and biodiversity. Beehives (Image: Daniel Dougherty) After getting my picture taken on an enormous chair – which Henry tells me is very popular with children – we headed back to the barn to see where the magic happens. The first thing I saw was enormous metal vats containing cider in various states of fermentation, one of which has been brewing since 2019.
Brewing vats (Image: Daniel Dougherty) The farm is now large enough to allow Chris to experiment with flavours, using different apple varieties and fermentation techniques. Chris said: “That’s the fun bit. “I’m thinking about putting some of the cider through a still to make a cider brandy.
” Henry also showed me the mulcher, where the apples are blended, and the press, where the mulch is squeezed down to release the juice. After pasteurizing – heating to kill bacteria and increase shelf-life – the juice is put into large plastic bottles to begin fermentation. Some juice is kept aside and sold as fresh apple juice, for which the farm is also famous.
Fresh apple juice (Image: Daniel Dougherty) Everything is then bottled on-site, a process Henry assures me is more dangerous than it sounds, given that bottles tend to explode if the pressures are not managed correctly. With my tour of the farm completed, I sat down ready for the main event – a tasting board of four ciders, alongside a freshly-cooked garlic bread. Gilly and Vicky, Dunham Disco, She Gives me Grief, Red Eye (Image: Daniel Dougherty) First up was ‘Gilly and Vicky’, comprised appropriately of ‘Gilly’ and ‘Vicky’ apple varieties.
This is a traditional flat cider - pleasantly bitter and smooth – and is a throwback to the way cider would have been enjoyed before the invention of carbonation in the 18th century. Chris said: “These things go so far back - centuries. “Farm workers would even have been paid in cider, though I don’t think my son would be too happy about that!” Chef Mike at the pizza oven (Image: Daniel Dougherty) I thought it was time for a spot of food, so I started digging into my garlic bread, which I’m pleased to report was excellent – probably the best garlic bread I’ve ever eaten.
Next cider up was my personal favourite - the popular ‘Dunham Disco’, made with the ‘Discovery’ apple variety I’d seen growing in the orchard. This cider was sweet, fizzy, and bright – I’d have happily drunk it all day if there weren’t two more ciders to get through. Ciders in the Apple Barn (Image: Daniel Dougherty) ‘She Gives me Grief’ – named for the ‘James Grieve’ apple from which it derives – was next.
This is a medium sweet cider, with a pleasant, characteristic twang. And to finish came ‘Red Eye’ – a sweet cider made from dessert apples – which was fizzy with slight caramel notes. Tickets are available now on the Dunham Apples website .
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dunham Apple Barn (@dunhamapplebarn) Feeling slightly merry from the drink, I took a few pictures before setting off back for the city, slightly sad that my trip to the country was coming to a close. As blossom season only lasts a few weeks, the tours are only available for a limited time, beginning tomorrow (April 18)..
