Strange customs of the UK

Ancient and modern customs and carryings-on.

22 Items

Ottery Saint Mary, England

The Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary

Flaming barrels of tar race through these village streets on Bonfire Night, a tradition that dates back centuries.

Added by hannahlujah123

The Haxey Hood

One of England's oldest ongoing games is basically a town-wide scrummage that aims to push a leather tube into a local pub.

Dr Alan P Newman

Added by Dr Alan P Newman

High Wycombe, England

Mayor Weigh-In

17th-century tradition of public weighing is met with boos or cheers depending on the Mayor's weight.

atimian

Added by atimian

Lerwick, Scotland

Up Helly Aa

During this Shetland Islands celebration, hundreds of torch-carrying "guizers" lead a procession to burn a viking longboat.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Ashbourne, England

Royal Shrovetide Football Match

This wild game of "football" between two sections of an English town has been staged every year for countless centuries.

Added by ThomasSchneider62

Cotswold Olimpicks

Robert Dover's traditional games.

michelle

Added by michelle

Gloucestershire, England

Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling

Every year locals tumble 650 feet down to the bottom of the hill chasing a Double Gloucester cheese.

hrnick

Added by hrnick

Tissington, England

Derbyshire Well Dressing

The tradition of using flowers to decorate wells is once again thriving in England.

Dr Alan P Newman

Added by Dr Alan P Newman

Witcham, England

World Pea Shooting Championship

The best place to acquire pea shooting fame.

Capemarsh

Added by Capemarsh

North Yorkshire, England

Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival

Each year this small English village becomes overrun with outlandish straw men.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Scarborough, England

Peasholm Park's Naval Battles

80 years of the Battle of Peasholm on a small English lake.

jademontserrat

Added by jademontserrat

Totnes, England

Totnes Orange Races

Once a year a small English town gets together to chase oranges down a steep hill in honor of a legendary accident.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

World Bog Snorkeling Championship

During this yearly Welsh swimming race, competitors tread through the fetid waters of a bog trench.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Willaston, England

World Worm Charming Championships

This bizarre English competition answers the important question: how many worms can YOU coax out of the ground?

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Stilton, England

Stilton Cheese Rolling Championship

Competitors race wooden replicas of pungent blue cheese.

PaperTiger

Added by PaperTiger

Lewes Bonfire

Both church and state get put to the torch in this annual festival in the "Bonfire Capital of the World."

Added by jazmcn

Hastings, England

Jack in the Green

Every May, townspeople welcome summer with a bizarre pagan parade led by a man wrapped in garlands.

Russ Arno

Added by Russ Arno

World Custard Pie Throwing Championship

Gastro Obscura

World Custard Pie Throwing Championship

The townspeople of Coxheath have been hurling pies at one another since 1967.

Gastro Obscura

ximenalarkin

Added by ximenalarkin

Moulton, England

Moulton Crow Fair

Every July, men dressed as giant crows dance around a scarecrow who comes to life.

Added by kdsaunders

Orkney, Scotland

Kirkwall Ba

Twice a year, this Orkney town hosts a rowdy game of medieval mob football.

Added by MrAmoeba

Easdale Island, Scotland

World Stone Skimming Championship

Every September, international competitors flock to a tiny Scottish island's flooded quarries.

ssm67alba

Added by ssm67alba

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Loony Dook

Every New Year's Day, locals don gaudy costumes and dive into the frigid Firth of Forth.

ssm67alba

Added by ssm67alba