If you were to stray into Mylor in the Adelaide Hills on the May 17, you might notice something unusual, a flicker between the trees, a distant drumbeat, laughter curling like smoke through the forest.
Keep walking and you will find yourself stepping not just into a festival, but into a living folktale. This is The English Ale, and it is unlike anything else on the South Australian calendar.
Each autumn, just as the Hills begin to breathe green again after the long dry, the township of Mylor transforms.
Giants stride through the gum trees, guisers and hobby horses stir among the shadows, and strange characters with antlers, painted faces, and leafy cloaks emerge to guide you into a world where the old stories are not just told but danced, sung, and played out around the fire.
The English Ale draws on old English seasonal rites, originally celebrated in the spring, but here in the Southern Hemisphere it is autumn that holds the spirit of renewal. Among these curious figures, you will find Jack in the Green, a playful, mysterious character who leads the procession like a spirit of the forest itself.
Festival Director since its humble beginnings in 2003, Adrienne Piggott says “The English Ale has grown into a hidden gem, the kind of festival that you don’t just attend but become part of.”
“It’s about the ancient customs of Great Britain, and it connects many of us to our ancestral heritage and village traditions,” added Adrienne.
“We, of course, acknowledge the Peramangk land on which we proudly hold our event and practise our arts. The community of Mylor and the wider Adelaide Hills and beyond have been supportive since the beginning and now the event attracted over 1400 people in 2024.”
“It is not just spectacle, but a moment of transformation, marking the end of one season and the beginning of the next.”
The day is filled with Morris dancers whose bells and sticks strike out rhythms older than anyone can quite trace, while The Whisky Bar Shanty Singers and The ALEiens English Session Band fill the air with songs that are hard not to sway along to.
There is theatre too, as the Fayre Guisers Mummers Players reimagine the Fittleworth Tipteering Play, full of cheek and mischief, drawing the crowd into their antics. For the young ones, or simply the young at heart, Preston’s old-school Punch & Judy show brings out plenty of giggles.
“As the sun slips behind the hills and the chill of night arrives, the festival takes a breath, then lifts. Torches are lit, casting a warm and flickering glow on faces both familiar and wild,” added Adrienne.
Then a procession weaves its way to the Wicker Man, towering and waiting.
Giants move steadily at the front, strange creatures dance at the edges, and a throng of revellers, part audience and part participants, follow. And then, the fire.
The Wicker Man crackles and roars, sending sparks into the dark canopy above, while the crowd leans in, holding their breath for a moment, before the night erupts with music, voices, and the quiet knowing that they have witnessed a tradition far older than themselves.
The English Ale is hard to explain to those who haven’t felt it under their feet. It is part folk ritual, part theatre, part magic. It is not something you merely watch — it is something you wander into, wide-eyed, and carry home long after the embers have cooled.
The English Ale
Where: Mylar Oval
When: Saturday 17, May 2025. 12pm- 11.30pm
For tickets & more info >> theenglishale.org
More News
