My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren’t happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.
| Somerset Tractor Show | 2nd-3rd Feb |
| The next show will feature Conversion Tractors (County, Roadless etc) | Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Blidworth Cradle Rocking | 3rd Feb |
| The male baby born nearest to Christmas Day in the parish is baptised during the morning service and in the afternoon is rocked by the vicar in a flower bedecked cradle in the church. | Blidworth, Nottinghamshire |
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| St Ives Feast | Hurling the Silver Ball | 4th Feb |
| The St Ives Feast is an ancient tradition that celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Parish Church of St Eia in 1434 and offers a rare chance to watch the game of Hurling the Silver Ball, a centuries’ old form of rugby. | St Ives, Cornwall |
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| Nickanan Night | 11th Feb |
| Nickanan Night is a Cornish feast, traditionally held on the Monday before Lent. Sometimes called roguery night in West Cornwall, this event was an excuse for local youths to undertake acts of minor vandalism and play practical jokes on neighbours and family. | Cornwall |
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| Atherstone Ball Game | 12th Feb |
| This traditional football game has been played since the since the 12th century. Originally a match between Warwickshire and Leicestershire lads, it now involves hundreds of players of all ages and lasts for approximately 2 hours. | Atherstone, North Warwickshire |
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| Cornish Hurling | 12th Feb |
| Twice a year the town plays host to "hurling", a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall. The game involves two teams of several hundred people who endeavour to carry a silver ball made of apple wood to goals set two miles apart, making the parish the largest pitch for a ball game anywhere in the world. | St Columb Major, Cornwall |
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| Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football | 12th-13th Feb |
| Two teams number in the hundreds and play a football game that dates to Elizabethan times. The playing field is 3 miles long, 2 miles wide and has the town of Ashbourne in the middle. | Ashbourne, Derbyshire |
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| King’s Lynn Mart | 14th-28th Feb |
| Traditionally, this is the first funfair in the Showmen’s calendar where new rides are tried out and old favourites brought out from winter storage. | King’s Lynn, Norfolk |
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| Living History in Worcester | 16th Feb |
| Worcester Re-Enactors take over Worcester City Centre venues, Guildhall and Tudor House. | Worcester, Worcestershire |
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| Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show | 16th-17th Feb |
| Expect around 18,000 visitors to the annual show featuring vintage motorcycles. | Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival | 16th-23rd Feb |
| Bi-annual festival to celebrate the fooling of customs officers by some smugglers – now a big parade encompassing the entire village. | Slaithwaite, Yorkshire |
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| Jorvik Viking Festival | 16th-24th Feb |
| Annual series of events based on Viking heritage, culminating in a torchlit procession through the town. | Coppergate, York |
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| Tatton Park Scarecrow Festival | 16th-24th Feb |
| Over 30 scarecrows will be resident in the Gardens. Find the farmyard scarecrows and have a go at making your own. | Knutsford, Cheshire |
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| Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb | 22nd-24th Feb |
| The festival celebrates the traditional links with rhubarb growing in Wakefield, while offering the finest and tastiest regional produce and showcasing the most talented local chefs. | Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
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