Britain's What's On Event Guide
Wassail at Donkey Lane Community Orchard
Greening Chinnor and the Mid Shires Orchard Group welcome you to this Winter Wassail for the Donkey Lane Community Orchard! The Anglo-Saxon ‘wes haile!’ or ‘wase hail!’ was a hearty wish for good health and fortune. We shout ‘Wassail!’ to toast our apple trees, that they may be healthy and fruitful for the coming year and bring us good harvest and bounty. We also make lots of noise to ward off bad luck and mischievous spirits, so they stay away and don’t steal the fruit!
Before we begin…
Enter the Donkey Lane Community Orchard via the ancient trackway…
Appreciate the lovely vista of the historic 19th century apple trees in this rural Chiltern's landscape
Enjoy the warm scent of apples as the hodgepodge of windfalls are crushed underfoot
Admire the decorated trees that are the King and Queen of the Orchard, hung with all their finery
The ceremony is lots of fun and we welcome audience participation in the Wassail song.
Bring along the family, wellies, percussion instruments (rather than a whistle, vuvuzela, kazoo etc), pots and pans (something to make a noise!) Wear your most colourful masks and practise social distancing during the event.
After the ceremony take a tour of the Donkey Lane Community Orchard
Take a walk around the Orchard with your hosts, Greening Chinnor
Visit the historic apple and plum trees and learn more about them
Discover the site of the old well and the cottages
Learn how you can help keep this orchard flourishing, join in working parties and enjoy orchard events
Before we begin…
Enter the Donkey Lane Community Orchard via the ancient trackway…
Appreciate the lovely vista of the historic 19th century apple trees in this rural Chiltern's landscape
Enjoy the warm scent of apples as the hodgepodge of windfalls are crushed underfoot
Admire the decorated trees that are the King and Queen of the Orchard, hung with all their finery
The ceremony is lots of fun and we welcome audience participation in the Wassail song.
Bring along the family, wellies, percussion instruments (rather than a whistle, vuvuzela, kazoo etc), pots and pans (something to make a noise!) Wear your most colourful masks and practise social distancing during the event.
After the ceremony take a tour of the Donkey Lane Community Orchard
Take a walk around the Orchard with your hosts, Greening Chinnor
Visit the historic apple and plum trees and learn more about them
Discover the site of the old well and the cottages
Learn how you can help keep this orchard flourishing, join in working parties and enjoy orchard events
Times: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm. The ceremony will be followed by refreshments. Enjoy more cider, mulled cider, mulled apple juice and cake. Small donations are welcomed in return for refreshments, for the Donkey Lane Community Orchard
Donkey Lane
off Keens Lane
Chinnor
Oxon Oxfordshire
Sat 29 January