Here is some very good news for
cider lovers visiting Dorset. We now have a real cider bar in Bridport!
It has been set up by Richard and
Nikki Cooper the owners of the Bull Hotel, an old coaching inn in the main
street. They have carried out a pleasing conversion of their former stables
behind the hotel, to make a cider house that exudes plenty of old world charm.
The Stables, essentially a large timber framed barn, has a pleasant panelled and beamy character within. The owners have added
suitable furniture in the form of heavy wooden benches and tables and the bar
has definitely been made to look the part. It is surmounted by an almighty oak
beam acting as a lintel, spanning a width of 20 ft or so. There are ( wait for it! ) 45 different ciders and perrys
on offer. The food is simply home made pizzas or
locally made pies. It is therefore along the lines of the successful Square and
Compass formula, the difference being this is a pub with no beer! (As far as I
could tell, this place is The proper job).
I had my first view
of this new cider Mecca last week when I delivered some draught Cider by Rosie.
This was to add yet one more to the amazing collection of bag in box and poly
barrel ciders that were already stacked on the bar. I met Richard the owner and
Andy the bar manager who proudly pointed out their great collection of bottled
ciders. The bottled ciders and perrys
seemed to have come from all and everywhere, though the draughts appeared to be
exclusively West Country. I noted that there were draught ciders from Thatchers, Burrow Hill, Bridge Farm, Lyme Bay and Netherbury, Hecks I think and
possibly others. It was really quite overwhelming!
I'm sure the venture will be a great
success and an especial attraction to the many summer visitors in Bridport and Dorset generally. I wonder if we are now
seeing a new trend for the cider house, following the continued and increasing
interest in cider drinking. It would be nice to think so. I mentioned how
lamentably few there are and spoke of the one at Newton Abbott. This may have
been the inspiration for The Stable as Richard told me that they had gone there
to take a look.
The only drawback of The Stable is
that it is not accessible via the Bull Hotel. It is necessary to work your way
round the back via Folly Mill Lane, first on the left in West Bay road. Then
take a left into Chancery Lane which leads into a car park next to the Stable.
I expect this little back track will be well signed before the summer rush.
I've been pleased to find that I can
still update the Cider Pub Guide on ukcider. I have
done so for The Stable in Bridport and have also
added a few more pubs that I have become fortunate to supply for the first time
this year.
Rose
Joyful greetings to all on this sunny Easter Day!
Following our spell of cold wet and
miserable weather, I was especially cheered by the satellite pictures of our
country in yesterday's Telegraph. Two pictures side by side, taken of the whole
country from space, showed the difference between February and March this year.
From being varying shades of brown and yellowy green during the cold weather,
the picture taken a month later shows the greenness of Spring
gradually sweeping across the Land. The degree of verdancy
showed the rate of growth of grassland and cereals, indicating which areas were the most seasonally advanced.
It struck me immediately as being a
map of the cider producing counties. Although the level of greenness had
increased over most of the country, there was a noticeable L shaped area of
darker green in the west. It extended from Cornwall through Devon to Dorset,
then vertically through Somerset and Monmouthshire
and into The Three Counties up to and including Shropshire.
I will leave it to those more knowledgeable about apple growing to comment on
this remarkable correlation that we are now able to witness the green 'sock' of
Ciderland from 500 miles above.
Meanwhile here at ground level, I am
experiencing the seasonal delight of seeing the buds swelling and even
beginning to burst on several of the trees in my orchard. It is joyful indeed!
Rose