Spring has sprung and Easter is approaching, so Contrary Life has put together a round-up of the best quirky Easter events taking place this year. From egg rolling and marbles matches, to bog races and coal carrying contests, there are madcap races and crazy games happening all across the UK…
Pasche Egg Rolling
Roll an egg down Hoad Hill in Ulverston.
When: 6th April 2015 (Easter Monday), from 12 noon
Where: Hoad Hill, Ulverston, Cumbria
£: Free
What is it?
Pasche Egg Rolling is a traditional Easter event in Ulverston. From 12 noon people gather on Hoad Hill, where the Hoad Monument is situated, before rolling decorated eggs down the slopes. The word pasche comes from Middle English dialect and means Easter or Passover. A pasche egg is traditionally boiled with brown onion skins, giving it a patterned tan effect.
More info: www.ulverstoncouncil.org.uk/events
Hot Cross Buns at The Widow’s Son
When: 3rd April 2015 (Good Friday)
Where: The Widow’s Son, Bow, London
£: Free
What is it?
The Widow’s Son is from the outside a very ordinary pub in Bow, East London. First built in the early 19th century, the pub is said to be built on the site of an old widow’s cottage. Every Good Friday, at The Widow’s Son, an unusual custom takes place. The story goes that the son of the old widow left for sea and promised to return for Easter. He asked to have a nice hot cross bun waiting for him when he got home. Sadly, he never returned, but the widow keep a fresh hot cross bun for her son every Good Friday until her death. After her death, a huge collection of hot cross buns was discovered in a net hanging from the ceiling of her cottage.
The public house that now stands on the site of the cottage is known by locals as the Bun House, and has continued the hot cross bun tradition every Good Friday. Every year a sailor from the Royal Navy places a new hot cross bun into a net of buns hanging above the bar.
More info: en.wikipedia.org and www.romfordrecorder.co.uk
The Middleton Pace Egg Play
When: 6th April 2015 (Easter Monday), from 12 noon
Where: Begins in The Dusty Miller, Middleton, Manchester
£: Free
What is it?
Pace-Egging is an old Easter begging custom which is still carried out in parts of northern England. Traditionally the entertainment was offered by poor villagers in exchange for alms. Today the custom generally involves a lot of singing, dancing and drinking. Middleton’s pace-egging usually tours around seven local pubs, beginning at The Dusty Miller. The play involves heroes, villains, a fight and plenty of eccentricity.
More info: www.pace-egg.org.uk
The Great Finborough Bog Race
When: 6th April 2015 (Easter Monday)
Where: Great Finborough, Suffolk
£: Free
What is it?
The Bog Race is a key part of village life in Great Finborough. On Easter Monday each year there is a battle between the villages of Haughley and Great Finborough. Participants race across the Suffolk countryside from Boyton Hall to a local pub called The Chestnut Horse. The first team to return to the pub with ‘The Contract’ wins. The idea of the race and the contract comes from a time when workers from Boyton Hall were in the pub rather than at work. Workers were hired from the neighbouring village of Haughley to replace them. The original workers were up in arms, so the employer threw the work contract up in the air and said that the first team of workers to step over the threshold of the pub, holding the contract, could have the job.
More info: wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Finborough and www.eadt.co.uk
Egg Dancing at Blists Hill Victorian Town
‘Egg Dancing’ whilst blindfolded at Blists Hill Victorian Town.
When: 28th March – 12th April 2015, open 10am – 5pm
Where: Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge, Shropshire
£: Admission costs £16.50 for adults, £13 for the 60 plus and £11 for children
What is it?
Join the residents at Blists Hill Victorian Town as they celebrate Easter with the unusual pastime of Egg Dancing. Once blindfolded, the townsfolk will dance across the street without stepping on eggs that are carefully placed along their route. After the demonstration, everyone can have a go at this tricky challenge. The egg dancing will take place twice a day opposite the Print Shop.
This year there will also be an Easter-themed shadow lamp making workshop. During the event visitors will be able to see traditional skills in action at the printers, candle makers and decorative plasterers, and join in a sing-a-long in the New Inn Pub.
More info: www.ironbridge.org.uk
Battle Marbles Matches
When: 3rd April 2015 (Good Friday)
Where: Battle Abbey Green, Battle, East Sussex
£: Free to watch. To enter contact the organisers via marbles@battlechamber.org
What is it?
The annual tradition of marbles being played at Battle dates back to the 1940s. Local teams of five play games of marbles and an Easter Bonnet competition is held for children. Teams need to enter in advance of the day, and spectators are most welcome to watch the competition. In addition to the games there is also a scramble by children for 1,000 free marbles, which are traditionally given away every year. Expect plenty of competitors in fancy dress!
More info: www.facebook.com/BattleMarblesMatches
British & World Marbles Championship
A long history of marbles at Tinsley Green: Pop Maynard in the ring.
When: 3rd April 2015 (Good Friday)
Where: Greyhound, Tinsley Green, West Sussex
£: Free to watch
What is it?
Tinsley Green in West Sussex is known as the home of marbles and the game has been played at the original Greyhound pub since the game’s revival in 1932. The Marbles Championships was a focal point of village life back then and so it continues to be today. In the 1940s an International Championship was introduced, the first of which attracted competition from the Americans. Since then there have been players from France, Germany and Japan amongst others. The object of the game is to knock one or more marbles off the ring by projecting a tolley (small glass or ceramic sphere) against them.
More info: www.greyhoundmarbles.com
World Coal Carrying Championships
When: 6th April 2015 (Easter Monday), from 9am
Where: Gawthorpe & Ossett, West Yorkshire
£: Free to watch. Men’s Veterans Race (40 years and over) and the Women’s Race costs £10 per person to enter. Men’s Main Race (18 years and over) costs £15 per person. The youth races cost £3 and the children’s fun run costs £2 to enter.
What is it?
This Easter the 52nd World Coal Carrying Championships will take place in Gawthorpe, West Yorkshire. The event consists of men’s, women’s and children’s races in which men carry 50kg sacks of coal and women 20kg. The adult races start from the Royal Oak public house on Owl Lane in Ossett and continue for a distance of 1012 metres to the finish line at the Maypole Green in Gawthorpe village. This year the event will be offering extra prize money to participants who can beat the current records.
More info: For entry forms and race details visit www.gawthorpemaypole.org.uk
Easter Saturday Duck Race
When: 4th April 2015
Where: The Yar Bridge, Yarmouth
£: Free to watch. Duck tickets are available on the day.
What is it?
Every year 1000 numbered little yellow plastic ducks are released onto the River Yar in Yarmouth. The numbers on the ducks coincide with tickets sold before the race, in and around the town. The first four little ducks to reach the bridge, on the tide, are the winners. Locals and visitors are all welcome to join in with this fun quackers event. Those with tickets for the winning numbered ducks will receive a prize.
More info: www.yarmouthcarnival.org.uk
Bottle Kicking & Hare Pie Scramble
The unique custom of Bottle Kicking in Hallaton.
When: 6th April 2015 (Easter Monday)
Where: Hallaton, Leicestershire
£: Free
What is it?
Every Easter Monday the village of Hallaton plays host to a unique set of customs. It begins with a parade through the villages of Medbourne and Hallaton with a hare pie and three kegs. The Bottle Kicking, a strenuous game similar to rugby, can be traced back over 200 years but is thought to be much older. The competition begins with a wooden dummy keg or ‘bottle’ being tossed into the air. Teams then try to move the bottle across two streams, one mile (1.6 km) apart, by any means possible.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle-kicking
Workington Uppies & Downies
When: 3rd April 2015 (Good Friday), plus two further matches on 7th & 11th April
Where: Workington, Cumbria
£: Free
What is it?
Every year in Workington three Uppies and Downies matches are held every Easter, raising money for various local charities. There are few rules to this rough ball game, but object is to ‘hail the ball’ (throw it up in the air three times) at the opposing team’s goal. The Downies goal is a capstan at the town’s harbour, while the Uppies is the gates of Workington Hall Parklands. The game is thought to originate from the rivalry between the seafarers around the marsh and the colliers of the top end of the tow. Three special Uppies and Downies balls are handmade every year for the occasion. Traditionally, the owner of nearby Curwen Hall awards a sovereign to the player who successfully hails the ball.
The town even has a pair of statues depicting the Easter event, created by local sculptor Colin Telfer. One stands outside Workington Hall, the other at the harbour.
More info: www.workingtonuppiesanddownies.co.uk
The Britannia Coconut Dancers Boundary to Boundary Dance
The Bacup Britannia Coconut Dancers.
When: 4th April 2015
Where: Bacup, Lancashire
£: Free
What is it?
Every Easter Saturday in the town of Bacup, the Britannia Coconut Dancers, with their blackened faces, decorated hats, red and white kilts, white stockings and clogs, are accompanied by a brass band to uphold the Traditional Boundary Dance. The dancers are named after the village of Britannia, where they were formed over 100 years ago. Their style of dance and costume is thought to be unique.
The dances and the dress are thought to have been brought to Cornwall by Moorish Pirates who settled and became employed as miners. Some of the men moved to work in the north, bringing their skills and their dances with them.
There are two types of dance. The garland dance is of pagan or medieval origin and thought to represent the coming of spring. The dancers probably blackened their faces to prevent evil spirits recognising them and possibly to reflect their mining connections. For the second type of dance, the coconut dance, they tap out rhythms on wooden discs or ‘nuts’ fastened to their hands, knees and waist. The nuts were originally used to protect miners as they crawled along the narrow passages in the mines.
More info: www.coconutters.co.uk