Cider and Tractors = country bumpkin?

This week I visited the Thatchers cider brewery at Sandford in the foothills of the Mendips, on the outskirts of Bristol.

Not surprisingly, a very strong smell of fermenting apples greeted us as we descended upon the farm shop.

Thatchers, a favourite with the famous band the Wurzels, renown for strong ciders have gone more main stream. The main cider in the West was traditionally Blackthorn, but with a change of ownership to Gaymers where they changed the cider recipe (and then had to change it back), appear to have let Thatchers corner part of the main stream cider market – Thatchers Gold is sold in many of the local pubs.

I purchased 2.5 litres of Scrumpy cider, not rough, no cloudiness, definitely not dry but a smooth darker strong 6% cider. It is up there as my favourite cider along with Pheasant Plucker and a poll amongst my mates would put Thatchers up towards the best of the ciders (although some will go for Natch at the bottlo).

To dispel the myth that we are all cider drinking country bumpkins in the West Country, I have included a photo of one of my brother’s modes of transportation. This little racing red beauty is complete with advanced satellite navigation – at the top of the cab you will see the antennae. With this modern sat nav technology(a photo inside the cab), the tractor can drive itself, knowing when to turn around at the end of a field, although does not know when to stop if something is in the way, like a telegraph pole. The idea is when harvesting crops or ploughing fields the driver can concentrate on the farm equipment (ploughing, spraying, planting) while the tractor will drive itself up and down the field. It could be handy for getting home from the pub.