Brent Knoll’s Westcroft Cider Farm attracted over 500 spectators for its traditional wassailing event on Saturday night (January 21st).
A flaming torchlit procession was held to mark the start of the Brent Knoll event, a centuries-old tradition that is said to banish evil spirits from the orchard for the year.
A ceremony took place in the orchard in which traditional songs were sung and gun shots were fired to scare off the bad spirits followed by the ceremonial placing of burnt toast in an apple tree by the wassailing princess and Brent Knoll School pupils.
John Page, who has overseen the Brent Knoll events for around 25 years, said Saturday’s ceremony had been “one of the biggest and most enthusiastic audiences for many years.”
Music and entertainment from Daft Folk, Belly Dancers, Tim Dean and Nat Topping followed, accompanied by plenty of cider!
Westcroft owner John Harris thanked those who’s attended: “We had a very successful evening with a great turnout of over 500 people.”
