The Orchard Tea Room & Farm Shop: January 2018

Wednesday 17 January 2018

Old Twelfth Night & Wassailing The Orchard

As far as we're aware our Fenland orchard was first wassailed in 2016, it was done later in the year then but the traditional day for the Wassailing of orchards is Old Twelfth Night.

Bread is hung in the trees and a libation of cider poured at the roots, shots fired through the branches and much noise made by the banging of pots and pans this is said to ward off evil spirits and encourage the apple trees into growth.

Old Apple Tree, we Wassail thee

and hope that thou will bear

Hats full, caps full ,three-bushel bags full

and a little heap under the stair.
Hip Hip Hooray

(Old Twelfth Night, 17th January, how come?

It's all to do with the change from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar in 1752 which resulted in the loss of 11 days with September 2nd being followed by September 14th. There were huge protests and many folk refused to follow the new calendar.)

The Orchard Tea Room & Farm Shop

Redmoor Lane

Wisbech

Cambs

PE14 0RN

Open 10-4 daily

Tuesday 16 January 2018

Fieldfare in The Orchard

We have flocks of visiting Fieldfare in the orchard and luckily for customers they can currently be seen swooping across the green between trees from the tea room windows.

These wonderful birds, members of the Thrush family, visit us from Scandinavia each winter to feast upon our fallen apples. We're very lucky to see so many Fieldfare, Turdis pilaris, as they are an endangered bird being on the red list for UK conservation concerns which means that they are a species that require urgent conservation.

Fieldfare will stay in the orchard throughout the winter, as long as there are apples for them to eat, before returning to Scandinavia around April time.