Over 350 people headed to Rich’s Cider Farm near Highbridge on Saturday night (January 17th) for its annual wassailing evening.
Rich’s Cider Farm in Watchfield held the long-running event to raise funds for Burnham-On-Sea mental health charity In Charley’s Memory in collaboration with Vagabonds Carnival Club.
Wassailing is an ancient practice, complete with rituals involving tree roots, shotguns, and cider to ward off bad spirits and ensure a good harvest for the year to come.
Cider-soaked burnt toast was placed onto the branches of an apple tree by the Wassail Queen, Mika Moig, and cider was poured around the tree’s roots before shot guns were fired to scare away the bad spirits.
Master of ceremonies was local BBC Somerset presenter Andy Bennett, while The Skimmity Hitchers led the entertainment afterwards, playing classic Scrumpy and Western music with a modern twist.
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.
