Festivals & one-offs

Chepstow Wassail & Mari Lwyd

Midwinter Morris dancing, wassailing and Mari Lwyd procession through Chepstow

Saturday 16 January 2027

One of Wales's most striking midwinter traditions, held every January in Chepstow. Morris sides from both sides of the border parade their traditional beasts and Maris through the town, with dancing, singing and music. The day includes a wassail to bless the apple trees in the community orchard, the Mari Lwyd – a decorated horse's skull carried on a pole under a white sheet, with its rhyming battles – and the meeting of the English and Welsh sides by the Old Wye Bridge. Hosted by Widders Border Morris. Free to watch and join in.

The celebrations carry on into the evening with a ceilidh at the Drill Hall.