Carr House Farm at Foston on the Wolds is opening its gates in the coming weeks
(Image: Makara Morris)
The family behind a historic East Yorkshire farm are inviting the public to join them in an ancient ritual that hopes to bring a bumper harvest. Carr House Farm at Foston on the Wolds has announced it will open in the coming weeks and says the ‘wassail’ ceremony will make a return due to popular demand.
Visitors to the farm will get the chance to see the Makara Morris group, based out of Wansford, as they perform the traditional English custom. At midday on Sunday, February 8, the group of six dancers will carry out the blessing of the fruit trees in the hope of a bountiful harvest in the autumn.
The folk tradition takes its name from the old Norse “ves heill”, meaning “be in good health” and happens at the beginning of the New Year with a gathering of local people who follow the “king or queen in green” in a noisy procession to the orchard. Those taking part bang, stamp, sing and shout wassail rhymes to wake up the trees and ward off evil spirits.
Pieces of toast soaked in a large bowl of cider or fruit juice and are then hung in the branches to attract robins to the trees as these are said to be the good spirits of the orchard.
The wassail is just one part of ‘winter walks open day’ staged at Carr House Farm, which also includes the Side Oven Bakery. From 10am on Sunday, February 8 the bakery doors will be open to the public and until 3pm there will be guided wildlife walks at intervals throughout the day – led by experts from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
Free walks will run at 10am, 11:15am and 1:30pm with visitors urged to book in advance via the Side Oven website. Organisers say they will last about an hour, taking participants through beautiful rural East Yorkshire. Meanwhile shorter, woodland walks will be open too.
Jessica Ledger from the Side Oven Bakery commented: “We are delighted to once again run our very popular Winter Wildlife Walks in partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Our open days are gaining in popularity each year which just goes to show how much people enjoy coming and seeing how we farm organically and seeing firsthand how much of a positive impact it has on the Wildlife here.”
The bakery will be open 10am till 3pm for a wide range of freshly baked breads, croissant, cakes and hot takeaway refreshments. Side Oven advises visitors to pre-orders baked items to avoid disappointment.
Carr House Farm has been home to the Sellers family for six generations and is on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, near Driffield. The organic farm grows a range of cereals which are harvested and taken to the mill house where they are milled – using a traditional stone ground mill – into flour.
The bakery then produces a range of award-winning organic products including breakfast cereals, breadmixes, fruit loaves and oatcakes. Soft fruit from the orchard is also made into apple juice and fruit cordials on the farm.