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Lynmouth Sailing Club Wassail 2026 at The Ancient Mariner
January 17 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Summon your inner Green Man, Wassail is nearly here….
In case you’re not sure, a ‘wassail’ involves gathering at local orchards to scare away evil spirits to promote a good crop. You may wish to bring a pan and spoon, a whistle, or anything might that you can carry that makes a good racket to help shoo them away.
Last year featured a magnificently dressed Green Man and Woman – and some of their slightly less well appointed crew; please feel free to make as much (or little…!) effort to get into the spirit of the event as you like. There will probably be some green face paint floating around at the Mariner.
So why is it OLD Twelfth Night 17th Jan?…… The shift of Twelfth Night (celebrated on January 6th) to January 17th is related to changes in the calendar system over the centuries.
The Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC, was the predominant calendar in Europe for over 1600 years. However, it had a small inaccuracy in that it was about 11 minutes too long each year. Over the centuries, these minutes added up, resulting in a noticeable discrepancy between the Julian calendar and the solar year.
To rectify this issue, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. In this new calendar, ten days were skipped to realign the calendar year with the solar year. The change was implemented by moving the date forward by ten days—October 4, 1582, was followed by October 15, 1582.
In England, the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar occurred later, in 1752. By this time, the calendar was 11 days ahead of the solar year. To bring the calendar in line with the corrected system, the British Calendar Act of 1750 removed 11 days from September 1752. The day following September 2, 1752, was declared as September 14, 1752.
As a result of these calendar adjustments, the date of Old Twelfth Night shifted from January 6th (Twelfth Night) to January 17th in the Gregorian calendar
This year the order of events will be as follows:
1530-1630 – Wassail Coronation Orchard, Lynmouth.
Leave the Ancient Mariner @ 1530 and walk through Lynmouth to the orchard.
This is an old tradition we are keen to keep alive. So the timing of this part of Wassail has been set for the young ones in mind to get involved ( With a Guardian ) – face painting, dressing up, something that makes a loud noise – anything goes.
A prize for the best dressed young ‘Wassailer’
1630 – leave Ancient Mariner for Kentisbury Wright’s care farm project.
Anyone needing a lift please ask, a space can be found for you, if at all possible.
1700 -1830 – Kentisbury Wright’s Care Farm project
Food will be available for a donation
This year will be Curry. Veg and vegan option available upon request.
Those wanting food please reply to this post so we can gauge numbers.
1845 onwards Caffyns Farm Wassail, get you cider here!
We will aim to Wassail sometime around 1900 to give everyone a chance to arrive
After Caffyns we will reconvene @ The Barque Lynmouth for refreshments and nibbles and more than likely more singing, well its Lynmouth of course there will be more singing!!
Make your own way ( if you do want to join in and are stuck for transport please get in contact we will help where possible)
Feel free to join the event at any point
Wellington Boots
torchesBring something to make a noise!!!!
Remember – Face Painting isn’t just for kids !!
Look forward to seeing you all Saturday 17th January for Wassail 2026
