REVELLERS turned out in force to celebrate the ancient pagan tradition of wassailing at National Trust Swan Barn Farm.

The wassail is held to scare off worms and maggots that are regarded as ‘evil’ spirits and to attract the ‘good’ spirit - embodied by the robin - to ensure a bumper crop.

The ceremony takes place around the oldest orchard tree at the Collards Lane site, where it is toasted and traditional wassail songs are sung.

The noisiest part of the ceremony is after the singing when everyone makes as much noise as possible to scare off the evil spirits. A piece of toast soaked in cider is hung on the branches to attract the good spirits and cider is sprinkled around the roots of the tree.

Swan Barn is hoping for a better harvest this year after Friday’s enthusiastic support for its wassail ceremony, which originated as a fertility rite. More than 140 revellers joined the torchlight procession to its oldest orchard, where 100-year-old traditional varieties are still going strong