Wassail 2019

1st January 201912th January 2019 by John

This Sunday, 13th January from 12 noon – 1pm at Pickering Road Community Orchard, Cranberry Way, Pickering Road, HU4 7AQ. The event starts at 12 o’clock – prompt! Facebook

Where is the orchard?

What happens at an orchard Wassail? The ritual of wassailing take place every January and is lots fo fun, see the video below.

Video – Wassailing at the orchard

January sees the ‘Wassailing’; a ritual held around the 12th night, an ancient custom of visiting orchards, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year.

The word wassail comes from the Anglo-Saxon greeting Wæs þu hæl, meaning “be thou hale”—i.e., “be in good health”.

The Lambswool (mulled cider) is given to the roots of the trees and pieces of toast dipped in apple juice are stuck on branches for the Robins, who are the guardians of the orchard.

Harvest is usually mid August to October with open days taking place on Sundays and sometimes Saturdays.

For a donation of £2, you can help yourself to 2kg of the apples of your choice.

We also sell apple juice which is wonderful and very tasty. After recent harvests we have had the juice put into glass bottles and sold at local outlets.

We have a small apiary at the orchard overseen by local beekeeper Wendy Maslin. Honey produced at the orchard is also available to buy.