Glastonbury Abbey Apple Juice has won Best In Show in the apple juice category at the British Cider Championships, held at the Royal Bath & West Show last weekend.

The abbey announced the award in a blog post added on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. The apple juice also took Gold in its class, while Glastonbury Abbey Cider received a Silver award for presentation.

The award-winning juice is made from apples grown in the abbey orchard. It is available from the Abbey Yard Gift Shop & Café and the Garden Café in the grounds.

Brad Lister, head of commercial activity at Glastonbury Abbey, said: "This is an excellent achievement made possible by everyone past & present who has been involved in the process: from members of the Grounds Team managing the orchard, to volunteers who picked and bagged the apples, to our Marketing Coordinator who designed the labels, and many more essential members of the team."

The abbey said cider orchards were often established within monastic communities during the medieval period. It said Glastonbury Abbey was no exception, with at least one orchard recorded on the site in the 1330s.

The current working orchard was reintegrated into the abbey precinct in the late 1970s. According to the abbey, it has been in use since at least 1799 and may date back to the monastic period.

Apples from the orchard are picked and bagged by hand each autumn before being used to make Glastonbury Abbey Cider and Apple Juice.

The latest award adds another local success to a tradition rooted in the abbey's historic grounds.

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