Good cheer for the New Year

Stroud’s annual Wassail and Revels bring some much-needed 15th-century merrymaking to help keep even the gloomiest of winter days in check

- Anna Bailey

Stroud is one of the Cotswolds’ crowning jewels – a former wool town of golden stone, higgledypiggledy streets and picturesque vistas of Laurie Lee country, but at the same time it’s a thriving working town with a vibrant community that never misses an opportunity to celebrate its diverse and all-round quirky nature. Whether you’re getting stuck into a good read at Stroud Book Festival, shopping the independent boutiques, or browsing the stalls at the county’s most popular farmers’ market, you’ll quickly find yourself immersed in that wonderfully bohemian energy that is practically synonymous with Stroud these days.

Undoubtedly one of the best examples of this is the Stroud Wassail. Just as the town itself is a blazing light amid the shadowy winter hills, so too is its midwinter festival a beacon in the darker months. The folk shenanigans return on January 11, and this year the festival is bigger than ever. Originally a showcase and celebration of traditional folk music, the Wassail has evolved over the years to include everything from sea shanties to samba.

“Our aim is to keep alive an ancient local custom,” explains festival chairman Robin Burton, “to bring a bit of fun and enjoyment into one of the darkest and most miserable times of year, to boost trade and community spirit, and support local charities.”

That ancient local custom, of course, being wassailing itself. The tradition has been affectionately associated with Gloucestershire for centuries. In the long winter months of bygone eras, the rural working class, without crops to tend or ground to till, would visit their wealthier neighbours and put on plays, sing songs and entertain them in exchange for food or money, all while toasting their benefactors’ good health: With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.