It's Christmas . . . as Tenbury Wells mistletoe auctions start

Buyers travelled from hundreds of miles away for the first of the annual auctions in the town yesterday.

Three sales of mistletoe, Christmas trees and holly are held annually on the last Tuesday of November and the first two Tuesdays of December. The auction sales are open to wholesalers, retailers and the general public.

The first auction took place at Tenbury Business Park yesterday with 1,200 lots of mistletoe, 3,000 wreaths and 250 Christmas trees up for grabs.

The annual bidding war was preceded by a ceremonial march by druids, who blessed this year's mistletoe crop before sales commenced.

Buyers came into Tenbury from all over the country, stocking up on the mistletoe, holly and Christmas trees which are grown almost entirely in the surrounding area. Some people bid for the lots to decorate homes, businesses, re-sell to their own customers and even deck out cruise ships.

The auctions make up part of the Tenbury Mistletoe Festival, which is already under way in the town and helps to boost the town's economy every year.

Auctioneer Nick Champion said the poor weather throughout 2012 had affected some of the foliage on offer but added there was another impressive haul for bidders to buy both yesterday and over the following two auctions next Tuesday and December 11.

He said: "The quality may not be as good because of the lack of sunshine.

"But yesterday we had 1,200 lots of mistletoe and holly, 3,000 wreaths and 250 Christmas trees up for sale."

The amount of bidders attending the event seemed to be unaffected by the poor weather and Mr Champion added trade was quite steady each year because of the auction's specific purpose.

The auctions have been taking place in the town for more than 30 years, formerly at the old cattle market and now at the business park in Bromyard Road. Diane Roberts travelled all the way from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire with a seven tonne truck to stock up on mistletoe.

She said: "The drive took us about three hours. We have been coming to the auctions for about 10 years now.

"We bulk buy the mistletoe and then sell it in London on the markets such as Covent Garden. We took back about three-and-a-half-tonnes of mistletoe, which if all goes to plan, will be sold by next Tuesday and we can come back and get some more. The mistletoe was well priced and I think the lorry load will cost us £1,200."

Lavinia Drake, from Cirencester Christmas Trees in Gloucestershire, was also bulk buying mistletoe and wreaths.

She said: "I'm not sure how much we've bought but it's a lot, we spent about £2,000. We have a big open top truck but other buyers there were literally forcing the doors shut on theirs.

"We sell the mistletoe and wreaths on to customers but some people at the auctions were there to buy the mistletoe and holly and create wreaths themselves.

"There were people buying and selling with friends and families helping them, it was a real vibrant atmosphere."

The overall mistletoe festival also includes dozens of events including an art exhibition inspired by mistletoe and the annual Mistletoe Foundation Procession, which will leave the Rose and Crown at Burford at 1pm on Saturday.

By Peter Finch