Somerset's famous cider orchards are facing severe impacts due to an extended drought, with many trees producing minimal or no fruit at all. Kimberly Jones of Honey’s Cider reports her orchard has produced only about 10% of its usual crop, while Neil MacDonald manages over 1,000 acres and notes half his apples have fallen before ripening, causing significant stress to the trees. This drought is affecting both small producers like Honey’s Cider, who rely solely on fresh juice from their own orchards, and larger operations such as Gordon Rich's farm near Highbridge, which typically harvests 20-30 tonnes but is experiencing a drastic reduction this year.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Somerset's famous cider orchards have been "decimated" by the long summer drought, producers say.
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producers → publish → drought
Many trees have produced no fruit at all, and others have dropped their fruit early, rotting before they ripened.
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they → produce → fruit
"It's gut-wrenching," says Kimberly Jones of Honey's Cider near Bath, whose orchard has produced only a 10th of its normal amount of apples.
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orchard → wrench → apples
Neil MacDonald, who manages more than 1,000 acres of Somerset orchards, says he has watched half his apples fall before they have ripened, because the trees are stressed by the drought.
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trees → manage → drought
"Nothing sells cider like sunshine," he says, "and we've emptied our tanks.
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we → sell → tanks
The sadness is we haven't got enough fruit to refill the tanks again."
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we → get → tanks
Walking through Kimberly Jones' orchard just outside Bath, it's hard to see any apples at all.
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it → walk → apples
The trees should be groaning with fruit, she tells me, but "we might get 10% of our normal crop here, and that's generous".
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that → groan → crop
The orchard is 25 years old, and this is by far the driest year they have had.
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they → have → ?
Because 2025 was also dry, the trees became stressed, she explained, and this year most have just not made fruit at all, to save their energy.
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most → become → energy
Unlike the big commercial brands, Honey's Cider is only made from fresh juice.
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Cider → make → juice
Jones refuses to buy apple concentrate or industrial products.
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Jones → refuse → concentrate
"So we can only make cider from the juice we make each year, which means we will be down this year," she adds.
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she → make → juice
Ironically, the long hot summer has been "brilliant" for actually selling cider.
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summer → sell → cider
"Everyone likes a cold cider on a hot day, but we are struggling now to grow fruit for next year," Jones says.
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Jones → like → year
On one of Somerset's most famous cider farms, I hear the same story.
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I → hear → story
Gordon Rich started pressing apples on a farm near Highbridge in 1954.
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Rich → start → 1954
Today his grandson George Scott makes nearly a million litres of cider a year.
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grandson → make → cider
"We would normally harvest 20-30 tonnes of apples here," he tells me, walking through one orchard.
"
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he → harvest → orchard
There's so little fruit in here I won't even put the harvester in - the sheep can have any that drop."
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that → be → any
Neighbouring farms that Scott buys from are also short of fruit.
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Scott → neighbour → fruit
One grower who normally produces 200 tonnes is "down to about 30", he adds.
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he → produce → 30
Will his tanks run dry then, I wondered?
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I → run → ?
"No, we've got plenty of cider in the tanks for now," he smiles.
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he → get → tanks
Cider makers can keep stock from year to year, but Scott says he worries about the future of his trees.
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he → keep → trees
Two years of drought have already stressed them, and climate scientists are warning farmers to expect more hot dry summers.
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scientists → stress → summers
"I do worry that next year will show a lot more signs of the drought and the trees will be stressed again.
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trees → worry → drought
If we get another dry year, I don't know what we're going to do," he adds.
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he → get → what
Rotting before they ripen
Not every orchard is bare, of course.
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orchard → rot → course
Neil MacDonald manages more than 1,000 acres of cider orchards across Somerset.
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MacDonald → manage → Somerset
At his Orchard Park Farm, near Shepton Mallet, I see plenty of apples - both on the trees and on the ground.
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I → see → ground
With a roar, the apple harvester starts up.
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harvester → start → roar
It powers down the rows, sweeping up the apples under the trees, up and away into the trailer.
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It → power → trailer
This is at least three weeks' early for harvest, but they are not picking up the fruit to make cider.
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they → pick → cider
"All these apples will go on the compost heap," MacDonald tells me, ruefully.
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MacDonald → go → me
He cuts one open to show me the inside, mottled brown and floury.
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He → cut → inside
"It's unripe, but it's already rotted before we've even started," he explains.
"
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he → rot → ?
The trees are stressed without any water, so they've just dumped the fruit on the ground to save themselves.
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they → stress → themselves
"
The harvester sweeps along, filling a large trailer with cider apples that Neil and his team have spent all year trying to grow, only to throw away.
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Neil → sweep → that
"We've probably lost about half the crop this way," he says.
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he → lose → crop
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
