500 people headed to Rich’s Cider Farm near Highbridge on Saturday night (January 20th) for its annual wassailing evening.
Rich’s Cider Farm in Watchfield held the long-running event to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK in collaboration with Vagabonds Carnival Club.
Wassailing has its roots in pagan rituals, blessing apple trees out in the orchards for a good harvest. The ceremony welcomes the good spirits and scares away the unwanted spirits to try and keep the trees in good health throughout the coming year.
Cider-soaked burnt toast was placed onto the branches of an apple tree by the Wassail Queen Mila Moig and cider was poured around the tree’s roots before shot guns were fired to scare away the bad spirits.
The Skimmity Hitchers led the entertainment afterwards, playing their classic Scrumpy and Western music with a 21st Century twist. The master of ceremonies was Andy Bennett.
Jan Rich told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We had a great evening and thank everyone who came along, raising money for an important charity.”
”We’re proud to have raised over £100,000 for a wide range of charities over the past 16 years – giving back is a tradition we’re determined to keep up.”
Rich’s Cider is a family run cider farm in Highbridge, Somerset. It has produced a range of traditional farmhouse ciders from locally harvested Somerset apples since 1954.
We recently reported that Rich’s Cider was celebrating after their Vintage Cider was named Champion Cider at the Taste of the West Awards 2023.
Furthermore, The Rich’s Cider Farm Shop was also a finalist for the South West Farm Shop of the Year award.
