Festival de la Sidra Natural de Gijón (Festival of Natural Cider – Gijón, Asturias, northern Spain)
Some might call Asturias the cider capital of the world. Certainly more cider is drunk per capita in that region of Spain than in any other similar-sized location in the world. It is drunk young and fresh, and all drinkers, from the old blue-overalled farmers in the mountains to young tattooed crowds in the city squares, follow the same ritual of pouring a quarter-glass of cider from a raised arm. This, as they say, ‘opens’ the drink, making it fizz and sparkle with rich appleness and as you drink down your ‘culín’.
To celebrate this art, the city of Gijón celebrates every August since 1991, on the beach of its wide sandy bay, the quirkily-named Guinness Record for Simultaneous Cider Pouring. This year, 7293 people poured over 70,000 litres of cider in unison. Anyone can participate and the cider is free. This is accompanied by the bustling Market of Cider and the Apple, with abundant free tastings of cider and food.
In a country of tomato fights, giant paellas and bull-running, one can only expect the same exuberance and love of plenty from this small and under-explored mountainous, Celtic and cider-fuelled region of the north.
And where else could you possibly have over 7000 cider pourers?

Gijón is short bus-ride from Asturias airport, with flights from Stansted, and is bristling with hotels and pensiones, and in the surrounding hills and mountains it is easy to rent casas rurales.
Google map: tinyurl.com/2f9sctf

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