The Iron Railway Vineyard is to be found on the main A23 north of Merstham, although the offices are in Coulsdon. There are a number of vines on site and various soft fruits are grown on either side of the old railway track. Of interest is the apple orchard, which contains three sorts of cooking apples and two sorts of cider apples, from which bottled cider is produced. The apples are pressed and bottled in East Sussex and sold in local farmers markets in the East Surrey and Sussex area. Three varieties of cider are produced, Sweet, Medium and Dry, all at 6.5%, with occasionally a Special Reserve, which is the Sweet fortified with extra sugar and is 9.5%. Each cider is produced separately and is a mixture of the cooking and cider apples in different ratios. The cider is pasteurised but not filtered and is sold in litre bottles under the Sit Down Cider brand name. The wines are mostly white, but some red and sparkling is also produced. The vines were first planted over twenty five years ago, and the cider apples about six, with cider first produced around 2005. Note that only the orchard is at this site, with all administration carried out at the owner's home. For this reason visits can only be made by prior appointment.

Last Updated: 10 May 2009