Orchardshare
OrchardShare is a community group, run by volunteers who work to conserve and maintain orchards to supply locally grown apples around Bath, UK.
Next Event: Wassail - Saturday 18th January 2025
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Come join our wassail at Dry Arch, Holcombe Lane, Bathampton, BA2 6UW.
Bring warm clothes and pots & pans to bang for the procession! Soup and mulled juice, plus traditional toast to decorate the trees. What is Wassailing?
 The Wassail Cup
Wassailing is a very ancient custom. The word 'wassail' comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase 'waes hael', which means 'good health'. In the early days, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. It was served from huge bowls, often made of silver or pewter. At OrchardShare we have our own beautifully carved Wassail bowl that we have been using to toast each others' health for several years. There are many traditional songs, such as the classic 'here we go a-wassailing' with a range of regional variations in local counties.
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Autumn Activities 2023
We’ve had a busy autumn picking and juicing apples. There haven’t been as many apples as sometimes this year, but we’ve had enough to juice.
We joined in with these events:
Ciderspace
Ciderspace is an exciting offshoot of Orchardshare. Apples harvested from local orchards, including those managed by Orchardshare, are juiced by hydropress for the production of apple juice for pasteurisation in bottles and cidermaking. This service is aimed at owners of small orchards with fruit surplus to requirement. Capacity is limited to 200 litres per day (approx 500 kg of fruit) at present. Please send enquiries about this venture to [email protected].
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Volunteer Activities
Come along and help us look after our beautiful orchards. We will be pruning the trees during the winter. If you’d like to come along, contact us for more information: [email protected]
Or check our posts on twitter or facebook. See How To Find Us for details of where to meet. What to Bring Volunteer sessions are normally 2-3 hours. We'll have a break in the middle, so bring something for a snack. We usually have tea/coffee (and sometimes cake!) available. For autumn/winter pruning, bring strong footwear, and working gloves if you have them. For apple picking, just outdoor clothes appropriate for the time of year and perhaps a bag for apples. We rarely cancel sessions in bad weather! |
Further information
For general enquiries, contact [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @orchardshare
Like us on Facebook: OrchardShare
Follow us on Twitter: @orchardshare
Like us on Facebook: OrchardShare
