Their story
Barley Wood Cider is made in the walled garden at Barley Wood, on the edge of Wrington in North Somerset. It was set up by Mike Atkins and Isy Schultz, who moved from Brighton and began by pressing apple juice for the on-site Ethicurean restaurant before turning to cidermaking around a decade ago. Cider and juice are hand-pressed on antique equipment, including a rack-and-cloth press over 100 years old, housed in a log-built roundhouse. Most of the fruit comes from the walled garden's own unsprayed orchard, which holds more than 60 apple varieties, topped up with fruit bought from other Somerset growers and, when the local crop is light, from an orchard in Herefordshire. The cider is fermented with wild yeast rather than added cultures, not made from concentrate.
Their own walled-garden orchard holds over 60 unsprayed apple varieties. They also buy in fruit from other Somerset growers and, in years when the local crop is light, from an orchard in Herefordshire.
Apples and pears they nameAshmead's Kernel, Harry Masters Jersey, Kingston Black, Morgan Sweet, Red Vallis, Black Vallis, Foxwhelp
What they make
- Ashmead single variety, from Ashmead's Kernel, vintage-dated
- Kingston Black single variety
- Vintage barrel-aged, vintage-dated
- Draught cider served by the pint in the Cider Barn
- Apple juice pressed from the orchard's own fruit
Visiting
Cider Barn in the Walled Garden roundhouse, selling cider and juice to take home
Opening times, as they publish them: Summer weekends only: Saturday 1pm-8pm, Sunday 1pm-6pm; closes in wet weather as the seating is outdoors
Tastings: Yes. The Ethicurean restaurant is also based in the walled garden but is a separate business.
Where to buy
- At the farm or cidery When open
- Scrattings Stockist
- Cork and Crown Stockist
Both named stockists are online cider specialists that deliver nationwide, rather than local shops
Their events
Runs an annual Wassail over two nights each January (23-24 January for the 2026 event), one of the larger wassail events in the South West.