Short answer: Cornwall's wassails run from late December to February. The Bodmin Wassail, a town tradition, is listed for Twelfth Night, Wednesday 6 January 2027, and visits pubs through the evening. Orchard wassails have run at Cotehele, Pentire near Wadebridge, Newquay, St Austell and St Ives. Dates for 2027 are mostly unannounced, so check each organiser.
Wassailing is the old custom of blessing the apple trees so they crop well in the year ahead, and Cornwall still does it in earnest. Expect cider, singing, toast in the branches for the robins and a great deal of banging of pots. January is the main month, and Twelfth Night, 6 January, is the traditional night.
The Bodmin Wassail is a town tradition held every Twelfth Night, according to Cornwall Forever. A local events list gives Wednesday 6 January 2027. Groups of singers carry a bowl of a specially made drink and visit homes, pubs and businesses to raise money for charity. The town has three Wassail songs.
For the most recent timetable we could find, the 2025 event (the 401st Bodmin Wassail) ran like this, as reported by The Post: the town centre from 2.30pm to 3.40pm, the Garland Ox around 6.15pm, the Masons Arms around 6.40pm, and ending at the Hole in the Wall around 10.45pm. It raised money for young carers at Bodmin College. Treat 2027 as probably similar, but check with the organisers.
These are the orchard wassails reported for 2024 and 2025. None of the 2027 dates is confirmed, but most are annual.
These are the dates from the 2025 season, so do not assume 2027 will match. The National Trust says wassails were traditionally held on Twelfth Night and are now hosted between late December and February, and it has a page listing its own wassails.
The National Trust describes the usual order: revellers walk to the orchard, sometimes led by a wassail King or Queen. Toast is placed in the branches of the oldest tree for the robins, cider is poured around the roots, and pots and pans are banged to wake the trees and scare off evil spirits. There are songs and often Morris dancing. The wassail drink itself is usually local ale or cider blended with honey and spices.
Children are usually welcome at the afternoon orchard events. The pub-based Bodmin Wassail runs late into the evening, so it is aimed more at adults.
Bodmin is easy to combine with the free Winter Welcome at Lanhydrock or a walk from the town. See the Bodmin guide for more, and Bodmin fireworks night for the town's other big annual community night. For December events leading up to it, see what's on in Cornwall in December 2026.
You can watch and meet the wassailers, but you cannot just join the walking party. Local press reports describe the wassailers as selected townsfolk, nominated and chosen by the existing group. The Post explains why: they go into private homes, care homes and pubs, and a large group would be too much for some hosts. New members serve a first year as a "coat boy".
The public part is the opening. The Post says the day begins with a visit to the Mayor at Bodmin Town Council's Shire House Suite, "a public space" where people can gather before the group sets off. The Cornish Times reported the 2026 edition as the 402nd, with records going back to 1624, and said it raised £888 for Bodmin Age Concern.
The timing differs by source. The Post describes midday to midnight with about twenty stops. The 2025 timetable we found had the town centre from 2.30pm and the evening in pubs. No 2027 times are published, so contact the town council if you want to arrive for the start.
If you just want to catch the singing, the pubs on the 2025 route were Masons Arms (4.6 from 325 Google reviews) and Hole In The Wall (4.6 from 559 Google reviews). Whether a pub allows spectators depends on the pub, so ask at the bar. Expect it to be adult-oriented and late.
Twelfth Night 2027 falls on a Wednesday, so weekday parking charges will apply in Bodmin car parks. Sunday is free in some, which is no help this year.
The most convenient is Priory Car Park, rated 4.2 from 118 Google reviews and open 24 hours. Reviewers say it is next to the park with a lake and play area, and has plenty of disabled bays. They also say payment is by machine or app and there is a minimum charge for card payments, so have the app ready. Evening tariffs are not confirmed, so read the board.
From Priory, Hole In The Wall on Crockwell Street is a short walk. Masons Arms on Higher Bore Street is roughly 600 metres from Priory by our reading of the map coordinates, so allow 10 minutes in the dark and wear shoes you can walk in.
If you plan to drink, do not drive. Our Bodmin Christmas lights guide and Bodmin rainy day guide are useful for planning the same trip around other events, and the Bodmin town page has more.
It is held on Twelfth Night, which is Wednesday 6 January 2027. Times are not yet published, so check before you go.
An old custom of blessing apple orchards with cider, toast for the robins, singing and noise to encourage a good harvest.
Cotehele and Pentire have hosted wassails in recent years. The National Trust's wassailing page lists current events.
The afternoon orchard wassails generally are. The Bodmin Wassail visits pubs and runs late into the evening.
In 2025 it finished at the Hole in the Wall in Bodmin around 10.45pm. Check the 2027 route with the organisers.
The wassailers are nominated and selected by the existing group. The public can gather at the Shire House Suite at the start, according to The Post.
The Cornish Times reported the 2026 edition as the 402nd, with records back to 1624.
The Cornish Times reported £888 raised for Bodmin Age Concern.
None of the reports we read mention a charge to watch. Wassailers collect donations for charity as they tour.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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