Cornish Orchards

Andy Atkinson arrived at Westnorth Manor Farm with his herd of dairy cattle in the spring of 1992. The farm is part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate and dates back to the 1600s, when the farm was known as ‘Westnarth’. Drawing motivation from Cornwall Council’s project to save, rejuvenate and replant traditional apple orchards, and wanting to encourage birds and wildlife, Andy planted three orchards on the farm. Soon, he had one of the largest collections of Cornish apple varieties in the county, creating a perfect wildlife habitat. Enthused by his new crop full of exciting, intriguing flavours, Andy juiced and blended, then hand labelled his first Cornish apple juices.  In true entrepreneurial spirit, he then took them to local farmers’ markets, where they quickly sold out. With this success and the introduction of his first Cornish Orchards cider, Andy took the leap to diversify from dairy farming to juice and cider making and threw his wellies away!