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County Armargh: Orchard Tour with Cider Tasting & Apple Tart
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From €45 per person
County Armagh is apple country - it’s been known for its orchards for centuries and the Bramley apple in particular has been grown here for generations. Long Meadow Cider is one of the county’s best-known producers, and this guided tour takes you properly inside the farm with a member of the McKeever family leading the way.
The tour starts in the vinegar production area, where you’ll learn how the McKeevers craft their apple cider vinegar using traditional methods and natural fermentation. You get to sample it too, along with some context on its health benefits and its growing role in food culture.
From there, you’ll see the cold storage facilities where harvested apples are carefully kept on site for up to eleven months of the year. It’s what keeps the quality consistent and the traceability complete, and seeing the scale of it gives you a real sense of what goes into year-round production.
The production area is next - this is where all Long Meadow products are made entirely on site. You’ll see how orchard fruit becomes premium cider and juice through pressing, fermenting, and bottling.
Then it’s outside for a walk through the orchards. You’ll see the very first trees planted by the McKeever family alongside newer plantations that show how the farm has grown and diversified over time. Different apple varieties, different seasons - your guide explains what makes each unique.
The tour ends in the Bramley Barn, right in the heart of the orchard, with guided tastings of the full range of Long Meadow ciders and apple juices and a slice of homemade apple tart. It’s a proper finish to a proper day out.
County Armagh’s apple-growing tradition goes back a long way. The county has been associated with orchards since at least the 17th century and the Bramley apple - the variety the McKeevers are famous for - is prized across Ireland and Britain for its sharp flavour and cooking qualities. Walking through a working orchard with someone who’s grown up on the land is a very different experience from reading about it.
The apple cider vinegar section is genuinely interesting even if you went in thinking it would be the least exciting part. Natural fermentation takes time and attention, and the McKeevers’ approach to producing it - traditionally and entirely on site - is something you don’t see in many places. The tasting can be surprisingly complex.
The Bramley Barn at the end of the tour is the payoff. Sitting down in the middle of the orchard with a guided tasting of the full cider and juice range is one of those simple things that ends up being a highlight of a County Armagh visit. Bring an appetite for apple tart.
County Armagh itself is worth exploring if you have time before or after the tour. Armagh city is one of the oldest in Ireland - it’s the ecclesiastical capital, with both Catholic and Church of Ireland cathedrals sitting on opposing hilltops - and the surrounding drumlin landscape is gentle and distinctly Northern Irish in character.
The orchards look different at different times of year. Spring brings the famous apple blossom - County Armagh’s orchards in bloom are genuinely beautiful and worth timing a visit around if you can. Autumn is harvest time, when the cold stores fill up and the pressing begins. Both seasons have their own character on the farm.