My now 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.
I’ve not listed every Shrove Tuesday pancake event, as there are hundreds of them. There are some non-pancake events to look out for though.
| Marsden Imbolc Fire Festival | 4th Feb |
| Imbolc is a pagan festival marking St Brigid’s Day and the end of winter ; this relatively recent event started in the 1990s as a community celebration to embrace the turning of the year. There is a procession, dance performances, stilt walking, lanterns, pyrotechnics and, of course, fire! | Marsden, West Yorkshire |
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| Somerset Tractor Show | 4th-5th Feb |
| The next show will feature Conversion Tractors (County, Roadless etc) | Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Blidworth Cradle Rocking | 5th 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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| Gun Salute for The Queen’s Accession | 6th Feb |
| Gun salutes are carried out in London at the Tower of London and Hyde Park, and in Windsor Great Park by the Brook Street entrance | Windsor Great Park, Berkshire |
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| St Ives Feast | Hurling the Silver Ball | 6th 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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| Jorvik Viking Festival | 11th-19th 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 | 11th-19th 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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| 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 | 18th Feb |
| Worcester Re-Enactors take over Worcester City Centre venues, Guildhall and Tudor House. | Worcester, Worcestershire |
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| Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show | 18th-19th Feb |
| Expect around 18,000 visitors to the annual show featuring vintage motorcycles. | Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Nickanan Night | 20th 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 | 21st 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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| Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football | 21st-22nd 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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| Cornish Hurling | 21st Feb & 3rd March |
| 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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| Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb | 24th-26th 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 |
Make a visit to St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life on the outskirts of Cardiff
. Houses, a school, Church, chapel, post office and other traditional buildings moved from different parts of Wales to the grounds of a castle (really a moated house) and set out like a village. Also an inside display area. Excellent day out and I love it there.