Wassailing at Weston’s Cider Mill, England

My husband Jim discovered “wassailing” in a regular beer publication he reads.  We are always looking for opportunities to see something new, and especially to check out local activities in and around England.  When we spotted an event at Westons Cider Mill, we embraced it as a chance to see more of the English countryside and participate in the local experience.

“The Orchard-Visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards, reciting incantations and singing to the trees in apple orchards in cider-producing regions of England to promote a good harvest for the coming year.” (Wikipedia)

We checked into our Bed and Breakfast Inn near the village of Ledbury, England and set out to Westons. We pulled into an empty parking lot in advance of the 6:30pm meeting time. Oh no. I felt a little uneasy….would this event be small and private? Would everyone be dressed up in costumes?  How would the residents of Herefordshire react to having “Americans” there? I worried that we were crashing an exclusive locals event.

When I was 16, I spent a summer working as an actress at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  My job as one of the semi-professionals in the acting company was to make the experience believable for the children and adults who entered the Faire grounds, to help the patrons visualize that we were stepping back in time to old England during the 16^th century.  There were thirty-five acres of grounds fit with stages and old Tudor style buildings, and 200 hundred actors who entertained the visitors who purchased tickets to the Faire.   I learned a lot that year about English history and traditions.

On Saturday night on the grounds of Weston Cider Mill, I felt like I was back in the 16th century, in that same period that I had tried to re-enact during my acting days at the Renaissance Faire.

It was pitch black. 7pm at night. Cold enough to wear a winter coat and see your breath.  The event began next to the Cider visitor centre,  where we watched the Silurian Morris Men (http://www.silurianmorris.org.uk/index.html) perform traditional dances and officially start off the ceremony. From there we followed them to a staging area where volunteers handed out hundreds of lit torches.

We descended into the muddy orchard grounds. I absorbed the scene ahead of me and behind me. There was a sea of bright torches everywhere. In my estimate, almost 500 people were participating in the wassail! It was surreal.

The Silaurians led us to a massive tree in the middle of the orchard, where we formed a circle and surrounded the tree.  The next part involved a ceremony to  “thank the trees for the fruit they provide, bless them and drink cider from the Wassail cup.” (Westons Cider Publication)  Song sheets were passed around, and we sang a few songs before two shots were fired ending the ceremony.

The Wassailing Ceremony succeeded in giving residents of the county of Herefordshire a truly believable experience.

During that two-hour ceremony, I imagined I was an old English village citizen living in an era hundreds of years before.  I understood how someone during that time could believe in all the traditions, rituals, ceremonies and crazy superstitions that existed.

I will be eagerly awaiting the next batch of Weston cider production for the next season. At least I know I did my part in helping to promote a fruitful harvest…