Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village
Complejo Cultural Fábrica Imbabura
Guptill's Arena
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Witcham World Pea Shooting Championship
Gastro Obscura

World Pea Shooting Championship

The best place to acquire pea shooting fame.

Witcham, England

Added By
E Capemarsh
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Village sign detail, Witcham.   Rodney Burton/CC BY-SA 2.0
Ian Ashmeade, the 2010 World Champion.   Yiipeeia/CC BY-SA 3.0
Witcham Village Hall.   Stuart Shepherd/CC BY-SA 2.0
Unveiling of the new village pub sign   Yiipeeia
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Every year since 1971, Planet Earth's foremost pea shooters have descended on Witcham, Cambridgeshire for the eagerly anticipated World Pea Shooting Contest.

On the second Saturday of July, for a limited fee, participants can purchase a bag of dried maple peas on the village green and enter an exciting sporting challenge to demonstrate their pea shooting prowess. To avoid cheating with pre-smoothed vegetables, competitors cannot use their own personal peas. They can, however, bring their own shooters—it’s even permitted for them to modify their equipment with laser guidance for extra accuracy.

The peas are shot by mouth through the pea shooter at a putty-covered, one-foot-diameter target from a distance of twelve feet. The target has three concentric rings marked on it. Five points are awarded for hitting the center ring, three points for the intermediate, and one point for the outer ring. Competitors receive a score based on their five best shots. The coveted prize is global kudos and the John Tyson Shield, named after the school headmaster who started the championships as a fundraiser in 1971.

Tyson’s inspiration for the event arose from the peas and shooters he confiscated from schoolchildren. Proceeds from the championship are used to maintain the upkeep of the Village Hall. In 2018, an image of three-times pea-shooting world champion Ian Ashmeade, mounted heroically on horseback brandishing his pea-shooter, was added to the local pub's sign to honor the village's global sporting credentials.

Until the International Olympic Committee recognizes the sport, Witcham will remain the epicenter of world pea shooting. People come from all over to partake, from places ranging from Peterborough (which is in Cambridgeshire) to the U.S. Air Force bases at Lakenheath and Mildenhall (which are 20 miles away), giving the good-humored competition a truly international pedigree.

Related Tags

Sports Competitions Villages Lasers Food

Know Before You Go

From Ely train station, take the A142 past Witchford to Witcham Toll. Turn right onto The Slade at Witcham Toll, and Witcham is half a mile down the lane. The competition can be entered on the day, and coincides with the village summer fete, which is held on the second Saturday in June.

Community Contributors

Added By

Capemarsh

Edited By

Kerry Wolfe

  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

July 13, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://richmars.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=8873482&AlbumKey=p3gVB
  • http://www.witcham.org.uk/_sgg/m1m6_1.htm
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Pea_Shooting_Championships
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-18786997
  • http://tobinators.com/blog/2013/07/everything-else/world-pea-shooting-championships/
World Pea Shooting Championship
1 The Slade
Witcham, England
United Kingdom
52.398112, 0.14926
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Octagon Tower

Ely, England

miles away

Sluice

Ely, England

miles away

Harley Davidson Monument

Littleport, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,199
Stories 144

Nearby Places

Octagon Tower

Ely, England

miles away

Sluice

Ely, England

miles away

Harley Davidson Monument

Littleport, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,199
Stories 144

Related Places

  • Lookout from plaque, featuring Fiesta Island across the water to the left, where most of the race took place.

    San Diego, California

    Birthplace of Modern Triathlon

    In September 1974, a small group of athletes completed the first modern triathlon event in San Diego's Mission Bay.

  • The Bramble Bank cricket match in 2018

    The Solent, England

    Bramble Bank Cricket Pitch

    Once a year, a sandbar rises from the depths just in time for the world's weirdest match.

  • Žitište, Serbia

    Serbia's Rocky Statue

    It may seem a little out of place in a tiny village, but the inspiring story of its creation made headlines.

  • Pitch and clubhouse at the rear.

    Glasgow, Scotland

    Hamilton Crescent

    The site of the first international football match.

  • Tommy the Turtle

    Boissevain, Manitoba

    Tommy the Turtle

    This colossal reptile celebrates the history of the now-defunct Canadian Turtle Derby.

  • The Quintain on Offham Green.

    Offham, England

    Offham Quintain

    Horsemen once used this tilting post during jousting practice.

  • The Kiplingcotes Derby, 2015.

    Kiplingcotes, England

    Kiplingcotes Derby

    You don't have to be a professional jockey to ride in Britain's oldest horse race.

  • Chastleton House across the croquet lawn.

    Chastleton, England

    Chastleton House Croquet Lawn

    Where the rules of that most quintessentially English game were first devised by an eccentric inventor.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.