January 11, 2025 @ 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
£5 – £35
Crackling fire, glowing lanterns, steaming hot mulled apple juice and merriment a-plenty for all the family! Celebrate a traditional Wassailing with us as we bless the fruit trees for a bountiful harvest. Let’s face it, January is a rubbish month when nothing much happens, but in villages up and down the country, around Old Twelfth Night, traditional Wassails are returning, so let’s bring some light and celebration to this time of year. Families with children of all ages are welcome to join us under our big parachute shelter at Park in the Past for an event which promises to be very special and magical with music, food and good company. “Wassail!”
Make a lantern with your family and join our procession to the orchard where you will learn about the tradition of wassailing and take part in the ceremony. We will be passing around the traditional wassail bowl filled to the brim with our secret winter-warming recipe, sharing slices of home-made apple cake and cooking up sticky toffee apple slices over the campfire. Come a-wassailing, as we sing-along to traditional songs of the season with live music provided by James’ mandolin.
Lea and James will be your guides to this traditional celebration as we gather under our huge parachute canopy and share the warmth of the winter fire.
- Craft a paper lantern with your family
- Enjoy hot mulled apple cider (non-alcoholic)
- Traditional Wassailing ceremony – blessing of the trees
- Cook up toffee apple slices on our blazing campfire
- Join the lantern procession to the orchard
- Share a sip from the wassail bowl & munch on apple cake
- Sing-along with wassail songs; James will have his mandolin
- Discover the ancient traditional of Wassailing & learn the history behind it
WHAT IS WASSAILING?
Wassailing refers to drinking (and singing) the health of trees in the hopes that they might better thrive. The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the autumn. The ceremonies of each Wassail vary from village to village but they generally all have the same core elements. A wassail King and Queen lead the song and procession to be played from one orchard to the next. This ancient British tradition is still very much thriving today.
Want to know what Wassailing is all about? Come along and find out what roles soggy toast, pots & pans and a child up a tree have to play in this ancient tradition. By wassailing the apple and pear trees we will be blessing them for a bountiful harvest next autumn. The old call will go out for “Hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls and little heaps under the stairs!”
Your Guides: James & Lea Kendall
James is the Head Bushcraft Instructor at Woodland Classroom, having worked in environmental education & conservation for over 10 years. James’ approach to teaching steers his students toward fostering a deeper connection with nature through understanding the landscape around us; “Bushcraft skills are an effective way to do this as we learn how to make use of natural materials and live lightly with the land, whilst also connecting with our own ancient past by seeing the land through the eyes of our ancestors.”
Lea is a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in a Woodland Setting practitioner. She is a firm believer in the power of nature to be therapeutic for everyone. Lea is an active forager, passionate about how we can use common plants for both food and medicine. She enjoys making her own tinctures and medicinal remedies for treating common ailments.
Skills you will learn
Over the course of the evening you will experience a range of activities, including…
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Tickets are £35 for a family of up to 4 people. Additional family members are £5 each Additional children aged under 3 come free. You can read our Event Terms & Conditions here.
