DISCOVER CIDER COUNTRY

Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks

- Paul Carter

Foxwhelp. Michelin. Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Hereford Redstreak. They sound like a found poem, these apple varieties Denis Gwatkin points out in his soft burr, one unsprayed tree at a time.

"No chemicals. The sheep graze and fertilise the orchard." His eyes are kind beneath lively russet brows. The bark is lichened; a blackbird is fussing in the undergrowth. The fruit is small, green and cool, though it's a hot day, and the hills beyond this leafy shade are blue.

Despite the merry flags and bustle at Gwatkin Red Cow, Denis's restaurant at Moorhampton Park Farm - where he's greeted every customer, the chef, labourers and each Ryeland sheep and Hereford calf there's a tranquillity in this orchard. I'm also sensing a gentle wisdom in Denis that comes as no surprise: I'm halfway through a relaxed cycle journey around Herefordshire's mild west, and I've already discovered that cidermakers in these parts are as passionate about their landscape and community as they are about their drink.

CIDER CIRCUITS

I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me.

The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.

There are three Cider Circuits to choose from- or combine. The 49-mile Newton Wonder loops north of Hereford, through the delightful 'Black-and-White Villages'. To the south, the 59-mile Redstreak weaves past Ross-on-Wye, then returns to the county town via picturesque Ledbury.