A bank holiday weekend of outdoor, family fun in the heart of Kent’s countryside
Here are some helpful hints and tips for anyone visiting our Cider Trails days this Saturday and Sunday.
SHUTTLE BUS FACTS
- The shuttle bus runs between Faversham Station and Brogdale Farm
- There will be approximately four trips an hour, but there is no rigid timetable
- First collection from Faversham Railway Station is 10am
- Last collection from Brogdale Farm is 5pm
- Passengers don’t need to have pre-booked a Cider Trails ticket to use the shuttle bus
GENERAL FACTS
- Dogs are welcome but are not permitted in the orchards
- There is a car park for visitors and cars can be left over night
- There will be non-cider drinks available at the Cider Trails
- Sorry, no camping
- Allocated ticket times are to stagger arrivals, but all visitors can stay until 5pm
ABOUT THE CIDER TRAILS
With many events postponed this summer, Brogdale’s Cider Trails during the August Bank Holiday Weekend are sure to be a favourite this summer.
With a fabulous programme of live music, plenty of fun activities for the kids along with food and drink galore – there’s something for everyone. Set in Brogdale’s beautiful orchards, there’s also plenty of hands-on rural stuff to get stuck into with apple juicing for the kids, cider tasting for the adults and PYO heritage apples for all the family.
Brogdale is located just outside Faversham which is only an hour on the train from London. With a free shuttle bus from the station to the Cider Trails, its such an easy journey for day trips from the Big Smoke.
Live music
With three stages hosting some of the best local bands – our Cider Trails are a great opportunity to let your hair down and enjoy some singing and dancing. With a mixture of folk, jazz, swing, pop and country – there’s something for all musical tastes.
Check out the great acts who will be performing:
- Hullabaloo
- How High Woods
- The 286
- Chill Billies
- Thomas Abrahams
- Mampama
- Jumbo Gumbo
- Old Lone Gin Band
- Ivan’s All Stars
It’s all about the apples and cider
The clue is in the name and if you love cider, you’re going to enjoy every minute of Brogdale’s Cider Trails. There’s plenty of artisan cider from local producers for you to try – 60 varieties in fact – and visitors can take part in the Cider Trail to taste all the ciders taking part and vote for their favourite. One lucky participant will win a case full of cider – made up of bottles from all the producers – as a prize for taking part.
There will also be cider making demonstrations for those who fancy learning the fine art of cider making. Visitors can also learn all about the apple varieties at Brogdale by taking part in a guided tour where they can taste some unusual and delicious apple specimens. Even better, they can pay to pick their own rare and heritage apples and take the taste of Brogdale home with them.
Kent is well known as the Garden of England and renowned for its orchards and apples. So, it’s not surprising that we have some terrific local cider producers. Taking part in the Cider Trails weekend are:
- Kent Cider Company
- Tiddly Pomme
- Biddenden Vineyards
- Kentish Pip
- Hernhill Cider
- Turners Cider
- Canterbury Cider Company
Kids fun
They might not be able to sample the cider, but there’s plenty of awesome stuff the kids can enjoy. They can scare their socks off listening to spooky stories from Ralfus the Undead; bounce like crazy on our enormous inflatable pirate shop; squidge apples and turn them into juice; say hello to some very cute animals; learn all about bees; have a go at outdoor cooking in the meadow or enjoy some face painting fun.
They’re bound to love the live music and yummy local food too.
Scrumptious local food
Having so much fun is hungry work, but fortunately Brogdale has also got delicious local food covered! We have some terrific food stalls coming along serving great street food, including Madagascan cuisine; Italian baked goods; slow roasted brisket; pie and mash; pizzas; waffles; sausage rolls, quiche; vegan sweet and savoury and plenty of ice-cream!
A warm welcome to:
- Silver Birch Fine Foods
- Lilias Kitchen
- Enzo’s Bakery
- Farmhouse Catering
- Foxes Wood Fired Pizza
- The Bubble Waffle Co
- Twinks Cakes
- La Luna Piena
Enjoy arts and crafts
At Brogdale Collections we also like to promote traditional and rural crafts and there will be traditional crafts people demonstrating their skills, including:
- Trugs and stake making
- Recycled jewellery
- Pyrography
- Green wood turning
- Willow weaving
- Macrame
Stay safe
At Brogdale, the safety of our visitors is very important to us. When planning the Cider Trails, we’ve worked very closely with the local authority to manage visitor numbers and ensure arrangements help people to maintain social distancing. There will be sanitising stations for people to use too.
How to book
Booking is essential and tickets can be ordered via our website here.
Prices
- Adults – £10
- Concession – £9
- Children 3-15 – £5
- Family (2 adults and 2 children) – £25
About Brogdale Collections
Brogdale Farm is home to the National Fruit Collection – which is the world’s largest collection of temperate fruits. Brogdale Collections is the charity which looks after the public’s access to this collection including events, education, tastings and tours.
By visiting the Cider Trails, visitors will be helping to support this very important charity and ensuring the rare and heritage fruits at Brogdale are shared with the public and preserved for years to come.
For more information about the charity click here.
How to get here
Brogdale Collections is located at Brogdale Farm, just outside Faversham in Kent. Click on the lick here for full address and map:
We are putting on a free shuttle bus between Faversham Railway Station and Brogdale Farm. So why not leave the car at home, relax and enjoy a wonderful day in the country?
