Suggestions for things to do outside London in May
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.
| Festival of Wormcharming | 1st May |
| Contest where people try to charm earthworms out of the ground in an array of bizarre methods. | Blackawton, Devon |
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| Maldon Mud Race | 1st May |
| Several hundred people race (!) through the low-tide mud of the Rover Blackwater. | Maldon, Essex |
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| Beltane at Thornborugh | 1st May |
| Each year, people gather at Thornborough Henge for the Celtic Festival of Beltane. A celebration of the arrival of Summer in the merry month of May. | Ripon, North Yorkshire |
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| ‘Obby ‘Oss Day | 1st May |
| Huge annual May Day festival, with the 6ft wide Obby Oss paraded through the streets. | Padstow, Cornwall |
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| Riding the Bounds | 1st May |
| Ancient ceremony where locals ride around the parish boundary to reassert their rights over the land. | Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland |
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| World Pilot Gig Championships | 1st May |
| Rowing boat races around the islands | Isles of Scilly |
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| May Morning Choir at Oxford | 1st May |
| For over 500 years, the choir of Magdalen College climb to the top of a tall tower and sing at 6am to greet the rising sun. | Oxford, Oxfordshire |
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| Abingdon Air and Country Show | 1st May |
| Three hour classic air display above a traditional country fair with static aircraft displays. | Abingdon Airfield, Oxfordshire |
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| Abbey Hill Steam Rally | 1st-2nd May |
| Large display of steam engines and road vehicles, as well as usual fun fair attractions. | Yeovil, Somerset |
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| Jack in the Green | 1st-2nd May |
| Traditional May Day events with Morris Dancers recreating the Jack in the Green parade through the town centre. | Hastings, East Sussex |
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| Springfields Festival and Tulipmania | 1st-2nd May |
| The weekend will feature bulb displays in the gardens, a craft fair, trade stands and other displays. | Spalding, Lincolnshire |
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| Rushden Cavalcade of Historical Transport & Country Show | 1st-2nd May |
| The Rushden Cavalcade brings together over 1,000 different exhibit’s from all over country. | Rushden, Northants |
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| Llandudno Transport Festival | 1st-2nd May |
| Held in conjunction with the Victorian Extravaganza, costume, vintage fairground and a host of attractions combine in a unique annual celebration of transport and entertainment heritage within the town. | Llandudno, Conway, Wales |
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| Rochester Sweeps Festival | 1st-2nd May |
| More than 50 Morris dancing sides, free music in pubs and ars, fun children’s activities and Jack -in-the-Green. | Rochester, Kent |
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| Scarecrow Festival | 1st-2nd May |
| Each year 45–50 scarecrows are made by families, groups and individuals in the village. This is the oldest such festival in the county. | Urchfont, Wiltshire. |
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| Randwick Wap | 1st-7th May |
| The WAP is a series of events during spring which culminates in a traditional procession and festival dating back to the Middle Ages. | Randwick, Gloucestershire |
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| Stilton Cheese Rolling | 2nd May |
| Teams compete in rolling Stilton cheeses down the main street. The event is also a village festival, and includes Maypole dancing, live music, ‘Molly’ dancing and other entertainment. | Stilton, Cambridgeshire |
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| Bristol Jack in the Green | 7th May |
| Bristol’s Jack in the Green welcomes the Summer each year, in a lively procession through the city’s streets, accompanied by musicians and dancers. |
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| Helston’s Flora Dance | 7th May |
| The whole town is decorated with flowers as parades, mumers plays and parades take place thoughout the town in a spring festival. | Helston, Cornwall |
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| Harwich Kichel Throwing | 19th May |
| The newly elected mayor of Harwich will stand at an open window of the council chamber in the town’s guildhall and will throw specially baked torpedo-shaped currant buns to the waiting crowd. | Harwich, Essex |
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| Mayor Weighing | 21st May |
| A tradition that can be dated back to 1678, the current Mayor is publicly weighed on their last day in office to check they haven’t got too fat on the public purse. | High Wycombe, Bucks |
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| The Hunting of the Earl of Rone | 27th – 30th May |
| Over four days, the Grenadiers, Hobby Horse, Fool and villagers hunt through the village for the ‘Earl of Rone’, finally finding him on the Monday night. He is mounted back-to-front on a donkey and paraded through the village to the sea. | Combe Martin, Devon |
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| Castleton Garland Day | 28th May |
| An ancient parade through the town with a garland – a beehive shaped head-dress, covered with wild flowers and greenery, which is worn by the May King over his head and shoulders. | Castleton, Derbyshire |
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| Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling | 30th May |
| World famous chasing of cheeses rolling down a perilously steep hill. | Coopers Hill, Gloucestershire |
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| Tetbury Woolsack Races | 30th May |
| Teams race through the village whilst carrying a 60lb sack of wool – up and down a hill that reaches a gradient of 1 in 4 | Tetbury, Gloucestershire |
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| Charing Hooden Horse | 30th May |
| Following the local church service, a wooden horse controlled by the Morris Dancers chases and snaps at onlookers. | Charing, Kent |
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