Shenley residents began 2025 by blessing their local apple orchard in hopes of a good harvest for the year ahead.
Held on Saturday, January 4, the Anglo-Saxon wassailing celebration at Shenley Park involved a torchlit procession into the orchard and gathering around a tree.
A short ceremony then followed, where pieces of toast were hung from the branches of the tree and apple juice was poured around its base, which is seen to be giving the tree a present.
Crowds made noise with drums, bells and anything else they had to hand to scare away any pixies or other evil spirits. A special wassail song was sung and fireworks were also let off.
The group later went to the tea room garden to enjoy cups of mulled apple juice and wassail cake.
In a post on Instagram, Shenley Park and Walled Garden said: “Fantastic wassailing today! Thanks to all who came along and beat the pixies out of the orchard.”
Photo credit: Shenley Park on Facebook
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