Additional information
Terrain
- Farmland and woodland paths, old railway bed, several stiles
Landscape
- Orchards, arable fields and riverside pastures
Dog friendliness
- Some arable fields, but many cattle beside Wye
Parking
- Several pay-and-display car parks in city centre, including West Street and Friars Street
Toilets en route
- None on route but several in city
About the walk
Percy and Fred Bulmer, the founders of H P Bulmer, were brought up in Credenhill, where their father was rector. His education interrupted by asthma, Percy lacked qualifications and decided to set up in business on his own. In 1887, inspired by his father – a contributor to the Herefordshire... Pomona, a beautifully illustrated catalogue listing the varieties of apples and pears – and taking his mother’s advice to select a business in ‘eating or drinking – activities that do not go out of fashion’, Percy tried his hand at cider-making. It must have been a promising start, for his brother Fred, having completed a degree in history at Cambridge, turned down an opportunity to tutor the children of the King of Siam (present-day Thailand) and joined his business. With a loan from their father, the brothers purchased land beside the city for a new cider mill and began fermenting the cider in 100-gallon casks. Cider production was still not mechanised and the brothers often worked 16-hour days, sleeping overnight in the mill. The outcome of their labours was often uncertain, too, for the natural yeasts could unpredictably turn the brew sour. Their business also depended upon the annual harvest, which in 1890 was disastrous, forcing them to buy Somerset apples at inflated prices. Their fortunes began to turn, however, when a university friend of Fred’s, Dr Herbert Durham, isolated the wild yeast necessary to produce a pure cider. The brothers started to expand, mechanising the process and installing tanks to store excess stock as insurance against a poor harvest. The also began planting their own orchards, developing suitable varieties that they could supply to the local growers. Marketing their product was a challenge, since much of Britain had little or no tradition of drinking cider. Fred began travelling the country, taking their product to agricultural shows, but soon realised that to succeed, they had to create a new demand. Publicity was expensive, but the brothers began trawling directories for appropriate contacts, targeting them with specially produced informative pamphlets. They accumulated a list of some 20,000 names and the business generated finally enabled them to become a ‘wholesale only’ company. Their famous Woodpecker brand was first sold in 1896. During his schoolless childhood, Percy taught himself French and as the business blossomed took himself to France, where he learned from the cider-makers of Épernay, found out about new bottling techniques and discovered the methode champagnoise. This he subsequently employed to make a champagne cider, which the brothers marketed as Pomagne. Bulmers continued to grow and was granted a Royal Warrant in 1911. It finally became a public company in 1970. Now part of Heineken, it remains a top brand and is still based in Hereford. Fred’s book Early Days of Cider Making, published in 1937, is available from the Cider Museum. Written in the language of its day, it is a delightful read, a story of sweat, endeavour, opportunism and good fortune.
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