Best places to take part in a Somerset Wassail 2026
It’s January, which means wassail is round the corner! Love a wassail? Never heard of a wassail? Want to get involved this year, but not sure where the best wassails in Somerset are? I’ve got the lowdown on the best places to take part in a Somerset wassail in 2026. Hail Apple Tree! Hail good health! Wassail! Wassail!
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Wassailing Somerset 2026
What is a wassail?
Wassailing dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, traditionally taking place on Twelfth Night (originally the 17 January, before the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752). The centuries-old ritual has Pagan roots and is intended to awaken the apple trees from their winter slumber. This involves blessing the orchards, reciting incantations, dancing, singing traditional songs and clattering pots and pans to scare away evil spirits and secure a bountiful apple harvest come autumn.
Wassail gets its name from an Old English term meaning ‘be well’, which was shouted like a toast at festivities in the darkest days of January while drinking hot spiced alcohol and cider.
Traditions vary slightly from place to place but usually, the wassail starts at dusk and is sometimes led by a Wassail King or Queen. Branches of the trees may be hit to frighten away evil spirits, cider is often poured on the roots of the oldest tree and pieces of toast, cake or bread are put into the branches to feed the good spirits or entice robins – believed to be the ‘guardians of the orchard’.
Afterwards, the trees of the orchard are serenaded with songs, Morris dancing and tasting the wassail drink. So if you thought a good crop of apples was all about the soil type and climate, now you know that’s not the case! If you’d like to experience this ancient tradition, there are of course loads of places to go wassailing in Somerset – this is cider country after all!
Where to take part in a Wassail Somerset 2026
If you’re looking for where to go wassailing in Somerset, here are the events taking place around the county:
South Somerset wassail 2026
Wassail Night, Bere Cider Company, Langport
- When? 10 January 2026, 6-11pm
- How much? Free entry, no tickets required
- with dancing from Dr Tubervilles Morris Dancers music from The Somerset Affair. More info here.
Wassail, Community Orchard, Chard Museum and Heritage Centre
- When? 18 January 2026, doors open 5.30pm
Chard Museum and Chard Town Council present this wassail at the Community Orchard (accessed via Chard Museum). Featuring Chard’s Town Crier, guest musicians and morris dancing from Blackdown Morris. Enjoy mulled cider and apple cake on the patio. More info.
Wassail at Tricky Cider, Netherham Farm, Low Ham, Langport
- When? 7 February 2026, from 3pm
- How much? Free entry
Tricky Cider will be hosting the very funny Langport Mummers, David Mitchell on guitar, food by Olive and Rosy, plus a live DJ. More info.
Buttercross Community Orchard Wassail, St Georges Street, Dunster
- When? 17 January 2026, 7.15pm
Help preserve the traditional Dunster Wassailing ceremony with drum-banging, music, song and stories followed by the firing of the Wassail guns, finishing off the procession in The Forester’s Arms for more ditties and storytelling. Cake and mulled cider provided.
Jubilee Wood Wassail, Hinton St. George, TA17 8SE
- When? 17 January 2026, 5.15pm
Head to Jubilee Wood Wassail for free spicy mulled cider and apple juice, followed by a procession along a candlelit path. Featuring the Lyme Morris with Lymosaurus, a wassail songs, free mulled cider and apple juice (courtesy of the Lord Poulett Arms).
Bring something along to make a loud cacophony to frighten away the evil spirits and help the Lord of Misrule in encouraging a bumper crop of apples in the Jubilee Wood orchard in 2026.
Wonderful Wassail & Countryside Crafts day, Yeovil Country Park
- When? 19 February 2026, activities from 1pm-4.20pm. Wassail ceremony from 4.20pm.
- Where? Summerhouse Hill Community Orchard, Yeo Leisure Park, BA20 1NP (near Hollywood Bowl)
Get ready to celebrate, Saxon style! Drop-in wassail activities will be taking place at Yeovil Country Park from 1pm-4.20pm. Marshmallow Toasting. Children’s Trail. Traditional music and dances. Necklace Making. Pooh Sticks. Clay Crafts. Den Building. Face painting. Leaf Crown Making.
Bring pots, pans, or tambourines! More info here.
Wassailing at Wadys, Middlezoy
- Saturday 17th January from 7pm
The Wild Moon Morris will be wassailing at Wadys Cider! Awaken the trees in Middlezoy – free entry, no ticket required, hot food available. More info.
Wassail night with dinner, The Newt
- When? 6 March 2026
- How much? Members only – £85p.p
The Newt celebrate their wassail slightly later, in March. Celebration is the order of the evening with singing, cyder, plenty of noise, and a torchlit procession through the grounds to chase away winter spirits. Cannons and fireworks round off the ceremony before a cosy two-course dinner in the Garden Café. Welcome drink + 2-course dinner included. Pre-booking essential.
The Sheppy’s Cider Wassail, Bradford-on-Tone, Taunton
- When? 23 January 2026, 5.30pm-10pm, ceremony starts at 6.45pm
- How much? £16.50
Toast the apple harvest for the year ahead with noise, fire, guns, hot cider and lots of people to sing the ancient chant at Sheppy’s Wassail 2026. As well as all the evil spirit-dispelling, there will be winter-warming food, a cider bar, open fires, Morris dancing and folk music. More info and tickets.
North Somerset wassailing events 2026
Bath City Farm Wassail! with Kilter Theatre
When? 18 January 2026, 11am
According to ancient custom, wassailing fruit trees at this time of year is the only sure way to guarantee a good autumn harvest. It’s as old as the hills and as daft as a brush.
Wrap up warm, bring a pot and wooden spoon, and join Bath City Community Farm and Kilter Theatre for drumming, shouting and hurling toast into the branches. Expect silly hats, ridiculous accents and family-friendly fun.
Clevedon Community Orchard Wassail 2026
- When? 10 January 2026 – 2.30pm
- How much? Free
Bring a pan and something to bash to Clevedon Community Orchard, next to Baytree School in Brookfield Walk. Just follow the path to the right of the school. There will be cider, mulled cider and apple cake. Bring a pan!
Tyntesfield Wassail 2026, Wraxall
- When? 18 January 2026, 1.30pm-3pm
- How much? This is a free event, no booking is required. Normal National Trust admission applies.
- This coming January, Tyntesfield will be working in partnership with Kittiwake Border Morris and hosting a classic Wassail. Festivities begin at the front of the house and attendees will then be led in a procession down to the orchard and a chance to join in with a ceremony blessing the trees for a fruitful harvest in the autumn.
- Click here for more information on this wassail at Tyntesfield.
Rich’s Cider Wassail 2026 Somerset
- When? 17 January 2026, 7.30pm-midnight
- How much? £17.50, children under 12 free
- Dance, sing and drink the night away at Rich’s traditional annual charity Wassail ceremony in Watchfield (raising funds for Cancer Research UK. Tuck into delicious hot food from the Cider Press Restaurant and frolic along with Scrumpy and Western band, The Skimmity Hitchers. Tickets are available here.
West Croft Farm, Brent Knoll Wassail
- When? 17 January 2026, 6.30pm-10pm
- How much? £5 per person, Children under 14 are free. Pre-purchase tickets from Brent Knoll Primary School via email or call 0785 426 2435.
- Brent Knoll’s Westcroft Cider Farm hosts its annual wassailing ceremony is a family-friendly event featuring a torch-lit procession, orchard ceremony, children’s games, live entertainment from Tim Dean, and Cheltenham Belly Dancers. Tickets include a mulled cider on entry. Click here for more info.
Blagdon Green Wassail
- When? January 24th 2026
- How much? £8 per adult, kids go free.
Blagdon Green hosts its first Wassail celebration with song, noise, and good cheer, plus hot spiced mulled cider or apple juice and homemade apple cake, all made from apples grown on the green.
Bring torches, fairy lights, and noise-makers to this joyful midwinter community gathering supporting habitat restoration.
Wassailing 2026, The Railway Inn – Thatchers Cider, Station Road, Sandford
- When is wassail? TBC
- How much?
Boost the chances of a plentiful apple harvest at Thatchers wassail 2025 with a two-course meal at this cider maker’s traditional country pub, The Railway Inn. Tasty grub is followed by sea shanty singing, mulled cider and Morris dancing. More info and tickets.
Mendip wassail dates
Wassail events 2026 at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
- When? 17 January 2026, 7.30-10pm (doors open 6.45pm)
- How much? Adult £18.50, Child (3+) £15, under 3s – free
Wrap up warm and join in with music and merriment at one of Somerset’s longest-running Wassails at Somerset Rural Life Museum. The event will take place in the museum’s 14th century Abbey Barn and around the oldest apple tree in the orchard.
Les Davies MBE, will act as Master of Ceremonies for the evening; crowning the Wassail King or Queen and blessing the cider trees. Local band Rapscallion will provide musical entertainment.
Tickets include a seasonal drink on arrival and a piece of apple cake. Other drinks will be available to purchase along with hotdogs and burgers (cash only).
More info on Somerset Rural Life Museum Wassail Glastonbury.
Shoemakers Museum Orchard Wassail, Clarks Village, Street
- When? 18 January 2026, 2-4.30pm
- How much? Free for museum passholders
Celebrate Somerset’s age-old wassailing tradition at the Shoemakers Museum Orchard with song, music, theatre, and a hint of local mischief. Bless the apple trees in the historic walled orchard to welcome a bountiful year ahead.
Create a wassail crown in the drop-in session 1-2pm: prizes for the best wassail themed crown!
Mid-Somerset Show, Mid Somerset Showground, Shepton Mallet, BA4 4GF
- When? 14 January 2026
- How much? £15 – book your tickets here.
- As darkness falls, a Wassail Queen will be chosen from the assembled crowd and a bonfire lit to ward off the evil spirits. Tickets include hot food provided by Denela’s and entertainment in the Yeoman building. More info here.
Weylands Wassail 2026
- When? 8 February 2026, 1.30-3.30pm
- How much? Free entry, donations to the community groups providing activities are welcome.
- Where? Find the wassail location via What 3 words or Google Maps.
In collaboration with Frome Town Council and Dowding’s Cider, The Weylands Wassail returns for its fourth year in the orchard behind Weylands/Whatcombe Road.
Enjoy live music from Frome Street Bandits, craft activities, mulled cider, and a joyful wassail ceremony led by Annabelle Macfadyen and Simon Blakeman. This free event celebrates an ancient tradition of blessing apple trees for a good harvest while bringing the community together. Bring pots, pans, and cheer for a midwinter celebration! Click here for more wassail info.
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