AN ORCHARD on the Malvern’s was awash with colour and merry celebrations last month as custodians of the hills joined each other in a traditional wassail ceremony.
Malvern Hills Trust (MHT) staff, trustees and neighbours joined each other at the orchard behind Millpond to partake in traditional wassail activities on January 22.
The MHT team donned traditional costumes, and finding their wassailing voices, sang songs to bless the orchard and encourage a good harvest for the coming year.
This old tradition, of visiting orchards to sing and dance has been kept alive in cider-producing counties such as Herefordshire, Dorset and Devon as well as others.
The event was brought to life in vibrant colour and music by the Beacon Morris group, who accompanied the attendees with colour and energy in their dance routines. The Morris dancers were praised for their participation.
Volunteers were hard at work before the event, giving their time to help with habitat management at the orchard behind Millpond. The team worked hard to remove scrub and help the orchard come back to life.
This is just one of many projects the volunteers have been helping with over the past year.
