AIC Cultural club
WESTON CIDER MILLS VISIT
On the first of October, the
AIC Cultural Club visited the
Westons Cider Mill where we
enjoyed a private tour.
The visit started with a look at
the cider making process from
traditional tools all the way
through to the modern-day
bottling process. After watching
a short informative movie, the indoor tour began. We were really
impressed by the huge
barrels and amused by the
fact that each one had its
own individual name. All of
the apples come from the
many local orchards; the
big apple suppliers bring their
apples by the truck-load whilst
the smaller growers bring their
bags by car. We learnt some very
interesting facts, such as in the
past the workers were allowed to
drink 4 pints each over the course
of the working day! Following the extremely informative tour, we
had the opportunity to sample and savour some of Weston’s
finest ciders and perries, before heading to the Tea Room where
a lovely cream tea awaited us.
GLOUCESTER WALKING TOUR
On January the 17th, the AIC
Cultural Club organised the
first walking tour of the city of
Gloucester with Mick, a local
guide from the National Trust.
On a very
cold day, but
one which
offered us
a wonderfully clear sky, we discovered
the many interesting aspects of the city
which was founded by the Romans at the
time of Emperor Nervae. It’s for this reason
that the City’s Roman name is Glevum (or,
more formally, Colonia Nervia Glevensium).
We all had an extremely pleasant morning
discovering the many hidden treasures
and listening to glorious
stories of days gone by.
We will certainly repeat
the experience in future
to give all the ladies in the
community the opportunity
to fully appreciate this
historical city.
Elisabetta Verardi
Caroline Pipier
www.gloucestercivictrust.org/
discover-gloucester
www.westons-cider.co.uk/experience
AIC Walks
In January we headed north into
Worcestershire and started our
walk at the Eastnor Estate at the
southern end of the Malvern Hills.
Eastnor also has a castle that
you can visit should you venture
to this area: www.eastnorcastle.
com. Our walk took us up to the
obelisk which was built in 1812
and commemorates the lives of
four of the Somers family, whose
ancestors still own the castle and
estate. From there we headed
down some very muddy tracks and
The walking group has completed 2 more walks since the
last article.
The first walk, on a misty November morning, started from
Haresfield Beacon near Stonehouse. We began at the National
Trust car park at the top of the beacon. We completed a varied
route taking us across the beacon, through farmland and along
a section of the Cotswold Way that runs through some beautiful
beech woods. This is a particularly beautiful walk when the
bluebells are in flower beneath
the trees in April. Having
completed the walk (and survived
an encounter with some curious
cows) we retired to the Edgemoor
Inn, a pub with beautiful views
which is a 5 minute drive from
Haresfield Beacon.
www.edgemoorinn.uk
back into the estate along
a ridgeline. After the walk,
lunch was eaten in The Duke
of York pub at Berrow a short
distance away.
www.dukeofyorkberrow.
co.uk
This will be my last walks article as I will be moving on in a few
weeks’ time. I would like to take this opportunity to th