I have to admit that my knowledge of the scale of the UK cider industry has been pretty abysmal. I have drunk cider occasionally and even made barrels of the stuff using our own dessert apples and Bramleys. We have a grunger (a mangle with nails stuck in the roller for mashing the apples) and a lovely old stone press which squeezes the mash into juice, and we host an apple day once a year and used to get sozzled on the cider. I am older now, a bit wiser and more knowledgeable.

I attended the Royal Bath & West show in Shepton Mallet in early June. It is probably one of the largest true agricultural shows, has the most impressive cheese competition in the country and also hosts the premier cider competition.

In recent years the Fruiterers have sponsored the hugely successful Orchards & Cider pavilion, and the Fruiterers also present a Best in Show Cup, which was presented this year by the Countess of Wessex to the well-known doyen of Somerset cider making, Julian Temperley. As Master I was asked to be a judge, but had much difficulty in differentiating between the range of dry and sweet ciders and just nodded my head in easy agreement with my fellow and very learned judges.

We also display a Fruiterers’ stand within the pavilion, manned by our own liverymen. It was appropriate that we were adjacent to the Nuffield stand, which dovetailed neatly with our support of their fruit scholarships. At the end of the day I had the chance to meet up with some of the Bulmers team who will hold their Cider Growers’ Day in early July.

The following morning we were shown round a range of orchards by an old friend, Robert Fovargue. The orchards ranged from the latest in design to more traditional. We were informed that the cider industry has developed considerably, partly on the back of the Magners ad campaign and partly through a growing interest in the huge range of individual ciders using single variety or blends of apples. Demand has increased resulting in extensive planting and trialling of new varieties. About 8,000 acres have been planted in recent years.

I understand that 45 per cent of all apples grown in this country go to the cider industry, and I’m impressed by the simplicity of apple production. First of all you link in with one of the cider makers who may help you with the purchase of trees. You agree a contract with fixed prices. Your technological support will be provided. You must prune and spray the trees, but harvesting is simple. Fruit bins are provided by the cider company and the fruit is harvested by sophisticated machinery.

Once again this east Kent, top-fruit, dessert grower was envious of such a straightforward system and wondered where’s the catch, but I rather got the impression that many top-fruit growers, but certainly not all, have switched to cider apples. Just think: No costly fruit thinning, less spraying, no storage, grading and supermarket costs.