VISITORS to Haslemere’s Swan Barn Farm tomorrow night (Friday) will have the opportunity to take part in a traditional old English ceremony as the National Trust Rangers hold their annual Winter Wassail.

The ceremony ensures a bumper apple harvest in autumn, according to folk lore.

The evening "of spirit warding, superstition and fun" will see visitors and rangers perform the ceremony to banish the evil spirits from the orchards.

The free community event includes the traditional drink of the ceremony, the wassail, which is made with apples grown and pressed right on the farm, there will also be food and drink available for sale and a live band.

Head ranger David Elliott, said: “Children especially love to join in with bashing pots and pans and generally making a lot of noise to scare away the spirits.

“We will meet outside Hunter Basecamp at 7pm and then follow a torchlit procession to find Old Man Apple, our oldest apple tree.

“We will sing songs and read poems in the orchard before offering traditional good luck blessings of toast dipped in cider to the trees.

"This is a great way to start the New Year. Swan Barn Farm is a wonderful example of sustainable living, with our orchard, chickens, bees, sheep, cattle and eco buildings, and it’s great to be able to show these off to visitors whilst having fun and making lots of noise.

“We’re especially proud of our wonderful collection of heritage apple trees.

“Orchards were a once familiar site throughout Britain, and they are a great way of marking the passing seasons and sustaining long-lived local traditions like the wassail. There are also great walks and wildlife to be enjoyed throughout the year, so we hope that visitors to our wassail will come back to visit us throughout the year."

Visitors should park in the pay and display car parks in the town centre, walk through to Swan Barn Farm (five minutes’ walk), and meet in the orchard in front of Hunter Basecamp.

Dress warmly with appropriate footwear as it is very wet under foot on the farm. There are some steps and slopes on the trail from Haslemere town centre to Swan Barn Farm.

For more details call (01428) 652359 or email Blackdown@nationaltrust. org.uk