What is a Wassail?

Wassailing is an ancient English tradition that involves getting together to celebrate orchards with hot apple juice, food and songs. The idea is to ‘bless’ the trees in the hope of a good harvest. Wassailing has been going on for donkey's years, with the first recorded mention being in 1585 in Kent.

People would go around the orchards, pouring cider on the roots of the trees and hanging bits of toast in the branches as an offering to the birds.Then they would make noise, singing, and banging pots and pans together to scare away any bad spirits in the orchard.

It may all sound a bit strange, but we hope our Wassail will be a fun and lively nod to this ancient tradition, and a chance to get together for some mischief in the gloom of January.

What to expect

We'll meet at East Riddlesden Hall and make our way to the orchard together for the Wassail ceremony, where there'll be plenty of songs to join in with.

Kids very welcome.

What to bring

This event will be entirely outside, so you’ll want to be dressed in warm clothing and footwear suitable for the outdoors and uneven ground.

Wassailing outfits are very much encouraged. Here are some photos for inspiration.

You may want to bring a pot and a wooden spoon, or an instrument to make some noise with! 

If you don't like loud noises, we recommend bringing some earplugs or headphones. 

Accessibility

There are toilets on site.

There will be loud noises.