A visit to Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm should definitely be on your autumn bucket list this year. As Cornwall’s largest commercial orchard, and home to Rattler Cornish Cloudy Cyder, Healeys welcomes over 400,000 visitors each year.
It is even a favourite of the royals with Kate Middleton recently seen sporting a Healeys Jute bag.
As part of the farm’s recent £3.5 million development, it has a new visitor centre, production halls, The Old Bottlery Restaurant and new for 2018, the contemporary and stylishly designed Mowhay Tea Rooms.
With FREE parking, FREE entry, plenty of FREE samples and loads going on for the whole family, it’s the perfect autumn day out for the whole family – including the dog!
Top things to do at Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm this autumn
Press your own apples
A brand-new juice and cyder-making experience will press into action at Healeys this autumn for visitors to use free of charge (with a donation to Healeys’ chosen charity, Cornwall Community Foundation).
Locals with an abundance of home grown apples from their gardens and orchards will have the opportunity to transform their own fruit into juice and even cyder with Healeys’ new, easy-to-use mill and apple press and cyder making kits (which launched at the farm from 31st August).
For those who don’t have their own apples, bags of Healeys’ home grown from the orchards at Penhallow will be available to buy at the farm when ready during harvest season.
The new facilities can make up to 18 litres of pure apple juice in around 30 minutes. Using containers and kits available to purchase from the farm shop, visitors can craft up to 30 pints of their own home brew – the perfect way to celebrate National Apple Day on October 21st 2018.
See the beautiful blossoms on a Cornish orchard walk
If you’re even remotely green fingered, the new Healeys Orchard Walks will take you meandering not only through the fruit filled farm and trees, but also through the fascinating 30 year Healeys family story.
Discover the Healeys journey to find the perfect Cornish cyder apples and learn what it takes to grow, care and harvest these special fruit producers before their transformation into cyder.
A Healeys Cornish Cydermaster will guide walkers throughout the cyder farm and orchards during harvest season, refreshing with a tutored juice blending along the way.
Prices start from £5 per child and £10 per adult with the option of adding a full Healeys Cyder Supper afterwards.
Bob some apples!
Marking the celebration of one of the nation’s favourite fruits, come and battle it out to become kings and queens of the orchards with Healeys Apple Bobbing Championships on Apple Day (October 21st 2018).
There will be apple bobbing competitions for both children and adults, starting at 10am in the courtyard.
The winner will ‘bob’ the most apples in one minute to win from a plethora of exciting prizes.
Become a cyder connoisseur with a tasty tour
With a Cornish Cydermaster as your guide, venture deep into the delicious world of cyder making, where heritage, craft and innovation combine.
Pop into the jam kitchen or learn lots of interesting facts at the Cyder making museum, which is full of fascinating artefacts from 16th century presses, to an old coopers’ workshop.
Picture yourself pulping apples with a collection of historic cyder presses, weave across barrel-lined cellars and marvel at Healeys copper pot still where the whiskey magic happens.
Ride through the 20 acres of Cornish orchards on “Bertha” the glorious vintage tractor.
A range of tour options are available, from 20 minutes to the full 1 hour 45 minutes. Prices start from £4 for a child & £5 for an adult.
Tuck into homemade Cornish cream teas
NEW for 2018 is the rustic and warm Mowhay Tea Rooms in the heart of the farm’s original 170-year-old courtyard.
With a menu dedicated to the iconic Cornish treat, a range of succulent scones, all home-made on the farm, are available.
Afternoon Tea is also on the menu with tiers full of Healeys’ favourites.
Tea can be substituted for your favourite cyder, for a real authentic Healeys experience.
Meet baby animals
At this time of year, the farm is lively with little ones.
This season, Healeys three sets of twin Pygmy goats have been welcomed down in the animal area with shire horses, ponies, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, ferrets, goats and of course Cornish black pigs and piglets!
Beautiful peacocks roam the site freely, and if you’re lucky, you can witness their magnificent displays throughout the year!
The animals provide the entertainment for little ones whilst adults can enjoy a pint of cyder (hopefully in the autumn sunshine).
Sup those samples
With over 20 different cyders, juices, wines, jams and preserves all made on the farm, everything can be sampled in the farm shop with tasting notes shared by the expertise of Healeys Cornish Cydermasters.
You’ll find new products on the shelves that you won’t find anywhere else including the brand-new Rattler in a can.
If cyder isn’t your favourite tipple, Healeys will still excite you as it is also Cornwall’s first distillery for 300 years. Visitors can also sample from the spirit master table.
Whether it’s the finest oak infused flavours of Healeys’ innovative Classic Whiskey, the double-distilled purity of its Classic Eau de Vie, or the rich, deep flavour of its groundbreaking Classic Brandy, the team at the farm understands what it takes to make premium spirits.
Marvel at the vintage cars
The Healeys families are direct descendants of the great Donald Healey, inventor of the famous ‘Austin Healey’ car and naturally have a passion for cars.
Over the years, Healeys has built a small and treasured collection of Healeys cars, so car fans can pop by to take a closer look at a Healey Silverstone sports car or one of their Austin Healey cars.
Cyder suppers – Sip the cyder, taste the food and discover the different flavour combinations
Cyder suppers are a brand new cyder and food pairing experience created by Healeys chefs and The Cornish Cydermasters to be enjoyed at your own pace and leisure in The Old Bottlery restaurant.
Priced at £20, cyder fans can enjoy a wonderful selection of Cornish meats and cheeses with Healeys chutneys and sauce, all perfectly paired with Healeys Cornish cyders including Scrumpy, Cornish Gold and Oak Matured.
Other dates for the diary
Healeys is a remarkably diverse site with loads going on throughout the year.
Other notable events for autumn and winter 2018 include the Little Orchard Cyder Festival from the 14th – 16th September and over Halloween, the farm and orchards become a spooky sight with a trick or treat hunt, trembling tractor rides and candle-lit cellar tours.
The year ends with a festive celebration across the farm.
Last Christmas, Healeys held its very first European-style festive Christmas market and tasting experience at the farm and it was a huge success.
This year, it is set to be bigger and better, spread across the whole farm.
Healeys Christmas markets will be held every weekend from the 23rd of November to the 23rd of December.
There will be arts, crafts, food and gifts from local suppliers alongside Healeys cyders.
You’ll also feel festive with choir songs, hearty Sunday roasts, Christmas trees and special family tours making it a truly magical experience for everyone.
Trip details
Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm is a family-run farm located deep in the heart of Cornwall, near Newquay.
Apples have been their passion for over 30 years. From bud to bottle, Healeys innovation makes them proud makers of an array of award-winning ciders, juices, wines, spirits and preserves.
It’s free entry to the farm, free parking and, of course, free samples, all of which are produced on the farm including much-loved Rattler and Cornish Cloudy Cyder. Every year, the farm welcomes over 400,000 excited visitors.
A range of guided tours take you on a journey through the press house, jam factory, museum, distillery, and cellars, before climbing the cider vat and enjoying an aerial view of the modern cider production halls.
Finally, the kids will love the tractor ride through the 20 acres of beautiful orchards with seven different varieties of Cornish apples with more being planted each year.
During pressing season (September -November), Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm presses three tonnes of apples an hour. Every last drop of juice is stored in the 50,000 litre storage tanks.
Throughout the year, skilled Cornish Cyder makers tip their talents into each and every bottle, using their knowledge to blend together the perfect apple combinations.