Enjoy tranquil Tickmore’s bounty
Apple Juice • Wool • Lamb •
Pedigree Ryeland Sheep

Tickmore, Brimfield, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 4NZ  Tel: 01584 711489  Email: enquiries@tickmore.co.uk

About Tickmore
Tickmore is a traditional smallholding situated on Brimfield Common. The towns of Ludlow, Leominster and Tenbury are each approximately 5 miles away from us, which puts us on the borders of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. As soon as one leaves the A49, the calm of the Common descends and, provided one doesn’t hesitate too  long after passing through the gate to enjoy the views across the Common, Tickmore is reached within 5 minutes.

The 400-year-old house is a traditional “2 up 2 down” half-timbered and rendered construction, whose adjacent barns have been converted to give room for a spacious farmhouse-style kitchen. As in most homes, this is the heart of the house, and provides an effective "hide" to watch the many birds that visit our feeding site in the yard.

Tickmore Appple Juice
Tickmore Apple Juice is always delicious, although which variety is “the best” is entirely a matter of taste. We have over 100 apple trees, representing over 100 varieties of apples, and so the choice may be a sharp (probably Bramley based) juice to wake the taste buds and refresh, a sweet drink that fills the bill when something more comforting is required (or when the unsophisticated palate of children is to be satisfied), a mellow flavour provided by the various russets or any of a number in between.

Because of our wide variety of trees, many of which are still quite small, no two batches (up to 90 bottles) are the same and “single varieties” are uncommon. As connoisseurs of apple juice know, even single varieties will vary from batch to batch, according to the time in the season, and within a batch the juice can change in character as it is stored.

We start the juice making season in July, when the “Discovery” apples begin to ripen.

The first process here is “maceration”. We have an electrically driven machine to do this, it is very much like a garden shredder, but is made of stainless steel. The resulting pulp, which resembles nothing so much as sloppy porridge, has a tiny quantity of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) added to it. This is not because we doubt the vitamin content of the apples, but it is an anti-oxidant, and prevents the juice from getting too brown.

Our press is a traditional style “rack and cloth” press of the type one sees in museums or fallen apart and neglected on village greens. Ours is made of cast iron and stainless steel. Checking that there is a bucket under the outlet hole, the apple pulp is then scooped into cloths and sandwiched between wooden slatted boards until a “cheese” of usually 5 layers is built up. A large wooden block tops the pile so that even before any other pressure is applied, the juice begins to pour out. The pressing is achieved by the use of a worm screw. This is tightened as far as it will go and the juice is left to drain out. After a couple of hours – or next time anyone is passing – this is tightened again and this is repeated over the next twelve hours or so.
The juice inevitably has some apple solids in it, but most of these can be eliminated by allowing the juice to stand for about 24 hours before bottling.

This isn’t quite the end. The juice would go off if it were just bottled and allowed to stand – just as the apples would – so it has to be pasteurised. This entails heating the bottles of juice for half an hour or so. The alternatives to pasteurising are to add preserving chemicals – they’ve had nothing while they have been growing, it seems a shame to spoil it now – and we just don’t have the freezer capacity for the third method. Finally, of course, the Tickmore label and the variety and sell by date label are added.

Our orchards were planted by a man who was concerned about the proposed closure, some years ago, of the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, in Kent. Consequently you may expect to see unusual varieties of apple on our labels. The wide variety also means that our blossom season is not spectacular, but goes on a long time – and the same applies to our picking season, which goes on well into November

The Ryeland Sheep
Ryelands are among the oldest UK breeds of sheep, having been developed locally, in fact they were so productive of valuable wool that they were known as “Leominster ore”. Our pedigree Ryeland and Coloured Ryeland sheep keep the grass short, though they are not allowed in the wild-flower meadows until they are cut for hay at the end of July for their winter feed.
The lambs may be sold for breeding or slaughtered and butchered at a nearby small abattoir for delicious meat, which we sell as half lambs or eat in the house. We sometimes sell fleeces to amateur spinners, though some of it may be taken to a mill to be spun into knitting wool (creamy white and several shades of grey). We sometimes have knitted goods for sale, too.

Anyone who would like to visit Tickmore to buy our juice is welcome. If juicing is in progress, we usually welcome observers – within hygiene limits. Phone on 01584 711 489 or e-mail enquiries@tickmore.co.uk to get directions and be sure we are available.