British Travel Journal | Autumn/Winter 2023

‘
Over 3,000 cyder apple trees grace the landscape here, and old orchards
that thrived on the estate over 300 years ago are now being revived.
’
Somerset, historically, is cider-making country,
although The Newt has chosen to opt for the old English
spelling of the word (cyder). Over 3,000 cyder apple
trees grace the landscape here, and old orchards that
thrived on the estate over 300 years ago are now being
revived. Today, it grows 70 varieties of bittersweet and
Somerset apples and features a cathedral-like cellar and
state-of-the-art cyder press – a striking stone-and-glassclad
building filled with vast stainless-steel tanks, where
modern cyder-making techniques are celebrated, and
where guided tours and tastings take place.
The estate’s more traditional West Country-style
cyders are fresh, aromatic, and sing with the sweet flavour
of a bucolic Somerset orchard on a summer’s day, but
in true Newt style there is innovation too. The Winston,
for example, is the first sparkling cyder in the world to be
bottled as an imperial pint in honour of a certain British
Prime Minister, and The Newt’s award-winning Fine
Cyder, which comes in tall, slim, elegant bottles, is crafted
using winemaking techniques and select dessert apples
only. It takes 10 months to produce, and the result is a
sophisticated, almost wine-like still cyder, with fruitiness
on the nose and a crisp taste of apple and lemon.
Soon, it was lunchtime. Freshly made picnics and light
bites are available from the Cyder Bar or there is the Garden
Cafe – an impressive, glass-walled space with a roaring fire
at its centre, which serves a vegetable-led menu overlooking
the Parabola, kitchen gardens and orchards beyond.
Wherever you choose to eat, every plate of food served on
the estate features something grown or foraged here.
I headed for The Botanical Rooms, the sophisticated
restaurant located within the hotel’s historic walls, and
enjoyed delicious grilled young leeks with smoked cod’s
roe and cured egg yolk, day boat fish with nasturtium
butter, garden peas and girolle mushroom, and a glass
of wine from The Newt’s South African sister property,
Babylonstoren. The interiors are sublime; everywhere you
look, the past has been cleverly reimagined by combining
historical features with contemporary architecture and
modern design pieces, while a vibrant colour palette
echoes the surrounding gardens and sweeping views of
the countryside.
After lunch, I ventured across ‘The Viper’ – a suspended
treetop walkway that snakes its way high above a deerdotted
woodland – in search of The Story of Gardening;
an extraordinary, immersive exploration of garden design
80 BritishTravelJournal.com