A RECORD number of grey mares took part in the annual celebration of winter traditions on the border.

The event on the old Wye Bridge in Chepstow brings together Welsh and English traditions in the form of the Mari Lwyd or Grey Mare and the Wassail.

The ’newest old tradition in Wales’, hosted by The Widders border Morris, marked its 10th anniversary this year.

As well as the meeting on the bridge, there were also wassails – an ancient English tradition to promote a good harvest from orchards – and a Mari Lwyd encounter at Chepstow Museum.

The Mari Lwyd traditionally saw men disguised as horses singing to householders in a bid to get food and drink.

The Mari Lwyd at the musuem was performed in Welsh with Anwen McElroy, a pupil at Ysgol Gymraeg y Ffin in Caldicot, with assistance from mum Elen helping the horses and a translation by Mick Lewis of The Widders.

Tim Ryan, who was MC for the day, said: “This is the 10th Mari Lwyd and Wassail and when we started there was one Mari. Today we’ve got 11 which is a record.”

There were Mari Lwyd from Chepstow and Monmouth and as far away as Cornwall and West Wales.

There were also a number of Morris dancing sides who met at the home of Jan Karvik and Audrey Crowley in Elmdale for a Wassail before marching noisily down to the bridge with Simon Fielding and Terry Laverty pulling a cart carrying an apple tree.

Among those celebrating at the museum were the Mayor of Chepstow Cllr Dale Rooke and the High Sherrif of Monmouthshire Andrew Tuggey.

The event was the first in the 200th anniversary year of the old Wye Bridge.

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