ONE of Herefordshire's strangest customs will return to an orchard near Hereford this evening (Thursday).
Families and cider drinkers have been invited to join a wassail in Tillington.
The ceremony dates to Pagan times and involves greeting an apple tree on the twelfth night to promote a good harvest.
Participants often sprinkle cider around a tree, hang toast from its branches and light fires nearby to ward-off evil spirits.
The Tillington ceremony starts with a torchlit procession from the Bell Inn at 7pm and has been organised by the Leominster Morris.
The group holds wassails in a different orchard each year, with hundreds attending previous events in Dilwyn and Weobley.
Wassailers can also have some flaming good fun at orchards near Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye this Saturday (Jan 8).
The Silurian Border Morris will lead a torchlight procession from the Slip Inn, Much Marcle from 7pm, while hundreds are expected at Broome Farm, Peterstow, around the same time.
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