Rowdy or charming, there’s no one way to wassail in the West Country

On Old Twelfth Night in the West Country, people gather to wassail crab apple trees in orchards and gardens in the weeks after Christmas, singing, making a racket and performing rituals intended to bless the trees for the year ahead. In Wiveliscombe the wassail is gentle and family-focused, organised by a small juicing co‑operative called Brendon Orchards; it starts and finishes early, is described as sweet and charming, and the group pours a little juice at the base of a tree.

The co‑operative, despite its name, has no orchard of its own. By contrast, Sheppy’s, one of Somerset’s largest cider producers, runs a highly organised, ticketed wassail, while in Wellington the local event is rowdier, taking place in the Swain’s Lane orchard and a nearby pub and featuring Morris dancing, a dragon and a local character called Mr Double Danger the 2nd.

The customs vary: Wiveliscombe wakes the orchard spirit with a capering crone wearing a spiderweb parasol and green velvet cape, and people make offerings such as toast for a robin and libations for the roots. In Wellington participants may take a mouthful of cider and spit it, and a louder cacophony aims to scare away “mawlscrawls,” mischievous sprites that could blight the crop.

Whatever the form, the stated intention is the same: to thank the trees for the last year’s harvest — 2025 was described as an absolute bumper — and to fire up the sap for the next.

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