Looking for some inspiration on how to spend your long Easter weekend? Contrary Life has compiled a round-up of the quirkiest Easter events taking place this year, including the best of the UK’s customs and contests, such as coal carrying races and marbles championships, chair lifting and bottle kicking. So, what are you waiting for…
1. Get a customary lift in Greenwich
Chair Lifting in Greenwich with Blackheath Morris Men
When: 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday)
Where: Greenwich, London
£: Free
What is it?
The Easter Monday Chair Lifting is an old custom which was carried out all over Britain until about a hundred years ago.
The custom fizzled out after the Church (rather mistakenly) encouraged its discontinuance, stating that it was a parody of Christ’s rising. In fact chair lifting is much much older and probably originated as a fertility ritual.
The chair lifting is exactly as it sounds, with ladies being elevated on ‘Eostre’s Throne of Flowers’. Eostre was the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring and Fertility, whose name still lingers in the word Easter – her holiday. For a woman to be lifted was seen as a compliment as she would have been deemed to be desirable. Traditionally, the lady who was lifted bestowed her thanks on each of those who lifted her (in the form of a kiss before departure). In some areas, on Easter Tuesday, the ladies lifted the men, who in addition to a kiss, had to leave beer money as well.
Today, the Blackheath Morris Men continue the custom in Greenwich on Easter Monday.
More info: www.blackheathmorris.com
2. Watch a traditional play in a pub
When: 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday), from 12 noon
Where: Takes in the hostelries around the village of Rhodes and town of Middleton – the play will begin at The Dusty Miller at 12pm
£: Free
What is it?
Pace-Egging is an old Easter begging custom which is still carried out in parts of northern England, and Middleton’s Pace Egging play is still going strong, touring the local pubs each year.
Traditionally the entertainment was offered by poor villagers in exchange for alms. Today, the custom generally involves a lot of singing, dancing and drinking. This year, the play will tour around seven local pubs, beginning at The Dusty Miller (12pm), followed by The Old Roebuck (12.30pm), The Britannia Inn (1pm), The Harbord Harbord (1.30pm), The New Inn (2pm), The Old Boar’s Head (2.30pm) and The Ring O’Bells (3pm). The play involves heroes, villains, a fight and plenty of eccentricity. This will be followed by egg rolling on the hill outside St Leonard Parish Church.
More info: www.pace-egg.org.uk
3. Learn how to roll like a champ at the British & World Marbles Championship…
A long history of marbles at Tinsley Green: Pop Maynard in the ring
When: 30th March 2018 (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 America. 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 and www.facebook.com/britishmarbles
…or at the famous Battle Marbles Matches
When: 30th March 2018 (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. Teams are encouraged to wear fancy dress, creating a colourful spectacle on Good Friday.
More info: www.facebook.com/BattleMarblesMatches
4. Get the sack at the World Coal Carrying Championships
When: 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday), registration begins at 10am and the races begin at 11.30am
Where: Gawthorpe & Ossett, West Yorkshire
£: Free to watch. Men’s Veterans Race (40 years and over) and the Women’s Race costs £15 per person to enter. Men’s Main Race (18 years and over) costs £20 per person. The youth races cost £5 and the children’s fun run costs £2 to enter.
What is it?
Fancy a challenge this Easter? The 55th World Coal Carrying Championships will take place in Gawthorpe, West Yorkshire, with 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. Prizes include trophies and money, with bonus prizes for breaking the current World Records!
More info: For entry forms and race details visit www.gawthorpemaypole.org.uk
5. Discover Hallaton’s peculiar parade and bizarre game
The unique custom of Bottle Kicking in Hallaton
When: 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday)
Where: Hallaton, Leicestershire
£: Free
What is it?
Every Easter Monday, the village of Hallaton plays host to a unique set of customs, known as the Bottle Kicking & Hare Pie Scramble. It begins with a parade through the villages of Medbourne and Hallaton with a hare pie and three kegs, followed by a game of Bottle Kicking.
The parade, according to local legend, is carried out to commemorate a hare saving two ladies from a raging bull. 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. The real reason for these quirky customs is unknown, but they show no signs of fizzling out.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle-kicking and www.facebook.com/BottleKickingHallaton
6. Watch ‘Uppies & Downies’ battle it out in Workington
When: 30th March 2018 (Good Friday), plus two further matches on the following Tuesday and Saturday
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: wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppies_and_Downies
7. Roll out the barrel in Hedley
When: 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday), registration from 11.30am and race from 1pm
Where: Hedley-on-the-Hill, Stocksfield, Northumberland
£: Free to watch
What is it?
The Hedley Barrel Race is run every Easter Monday and is organised by the local Feathers Inn. The race sees competitors carrying an empty nine-gallon beer barrel, over a 1.5 mile course.
The lucky victors will win 72 pints (a keg of beer)! But that’s not all, in the afternoon there will also be some traditional egg jarping taking place, along with a real ale festival bar and BBQ.
More info: www.facebook.com/TheFeathersInn
8. Cheer on The Bog Men in Great Finborough
When: 2nd April 2018 (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
9. Try a spot of Egg Dancing at Blists Hill Victorian Town
‘Egg Dancing’ whilst blindfolded at Blists Hill Victorian Town
When: 30th March – 2nd April 2018, open 10am – 5pm
Where: Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge, Shropshire
£: Admission costs £16.25 for adults and £10.75 for children (annual tickets are also available)
What is it?
Join the residents at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge, as they celebrate Easter in traditional Victorian style with egg dancing and Easter bonnet parades.
What is egg dancing? Blindfolded, the townsfolk dance across the street (hopefully) without stepping on eggs that are carefully placed along their route. Have-a-go after the demonstration and see if you can complete the course without stepping on an egg!
Throughout the holidays there’ll be the opportunity to print your own posters, watch baby chicks hatch, see how chocolate eggs are made and search for hidden Easter bunnies.
More info: www.ironbridge.org.uk
10. Follow the Britannia Coconut Dancers on a unique tour of Bacup
The Bacup Britannia Coconut Dancers
When: 31st March 2018, from 9am
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 believed 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
If none of those take your fancy, check out for our best quirky events for adults and best quirky events for families!