TWO new year traditions were played out on both sides of the border with much merry-making at Chepstow and English Bicknor.

Chepstow welcomed a record number of Mari Lwyd – the slightly scary Grey Mare tradition of south Wales – and wassailers from Tutshill, while at English Bicknor there was cider and toast as the village celebrated with a wassail.

The 21 Mari Lwyd at Chepstow were joined by English characters including a “Severn Boar” and a Gloucester Old Spot pig.

At English Bicknor a gun was fired through the trees “to ward off evil spirits” while at Tutshill the same effect had to be achieved with party poppers.

At both wassails toast was hung on the apple tree and cider drunk to bring on a good harvest.

Some 40 people enjoyed the West Country tradition at English Bicknor while many of those who had travelled from across the south west for the Chepstow event gathered at the home of Jan Karvik and Audrey Crowley to bless the apple tree ahead of the meeting on the bridge.

Kate Fyffe,of English Bicknor, said: “We met at the village hall and then carried flaming torches to the orchard at Andrew and Sharon Sherbourne’s home. This is the sixth year we’ve held a wassail and the third time they’ve welcomed us. Danny Dunkley was our ‘butler’, or master of ceremonies, who conducted proceedings.”

The group then headed back to the hall for mulled cider, hot pork rolls and cake. The event raised £100 for the village hall, which enables the committee to keep down the costs of hiring it.

The Chepstow event began with a Mari Lwyd at the Greenman Backpacker hostel in Beaufort Square with the mares pleading with the ’householders’ to be fed and watered.

There was another later at Chepstow Museum with pupils and parents from Ysgol Gymraeg y Ffin in Caldicot reading the plea in Welsh which was then translated into English.

As well as a ‘beauty contest’ for the horses outside Chepstow Castle in the afternoon, the main event was the meeting of English and Welsh on the old Wye Bridge.

After an exchange of flags and a lot of banter, a wassail bowl was passed around with some of the 1,060 litres of cider made during the autumn from apples in orchards around the town.