(After a lengthy hiatus, I am restarting this monthly series)
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.
Lady Anne Clifford’s dole ceremony | 2nd April |
Annual service and handing out of bread and money for the poor at a stone pillar where it’s said Lady Anne said farewell to her mother. | Brougham, Cumbria |
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Winter Dressage Championships | 3rd-7th Apil |
Talented amateurs and Britain’s best compete side by side over five days of intense competition. | Hartpury, Gloucestershire |
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Sheep Grand National | 6th April |
A sheep race on the same day as the horses race the Grand National. | Bideford, North Devon |
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Heritage Transport Show | 6th April |
Over 700 vehicles including motorbikes, cars, tractors, commercials and many more on display. | Maidstone, Kent |
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UK Coach Rally | 6th-7th April |
Around 60 buses and coaches will parade around an 80-mile route on Saturday. Will be on display on Sunday. | Blackpool, Lancashire |
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The Fast Show | 7th April |
Modified car show with events including, drag cars, Jet Cars, drifting and stunt displays, traders, fun fair, etc. | Wellingborough, Northants |
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Tatworth Candle Auction | 9th April |
A private event by invitation, where the right to use a plot of pasture is auctioned off with the bidding timed by a burning candle.
Note, the pub was sold recently, so the auction is uncertain. |
Tatworth, Somerset |
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Barmote Courts of Wirksworth | 10th April |
Annual auction of coal mining licenses. In line with tradition, bread, cheese, clay pipes and tobacco are provided at the meetings, and a representative of the monarch who is the Lord of the Field attends. | Wirksworth, Derbyshire |
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Sharrow Lantern Carnival | 10th April |
Parade by local residents with lanterns made during the winter months. | Sheffield, Sth Yorkshire |
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The Kate Kennedy Procession | 13th April |
Around 140 people march through the town in a variety of colourful costumes from various periods, led by a barefoot St Andrew with a cross hoisted on his back. | St Andrews, Scotland |
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Culloden Memorial Service | 13th April |
Annual Culloden Memorial Service, run by the Gaelic Society of Inverness. Address by the Society Chief followed by prayers. | Culloden, Inverness |
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Fritillary Sunday | 14th April |
The one day of the year, when a field growing The Snake’s Head Fritillary is open to the public. The church is open and a fair is set up. | Ducklington, Oxfordshire |
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Uppies and Downies | 19th April |
A medieval version of football played just after Easter each year. There were traditionally no rules, except those suggested by cunning and skill, while brute force is of the greatest importance. | Workington, Cumbria |
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Maundy Thursday | 18th April |
The Queen will hand out the ancient Maundy Money to worthy people. | Windsor, Berkshire |
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British and World Marbles Championship | 19th April |
A revival of a marbles game that can be dated back to 1932 in the local pub. | Crawley, West Sussex |
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Hartfield Dole | 19th April |
Money is given to local poor people on Good Friday at the Church of St Mary the Virgin as a 17th century legacy. | Hartfield, Sussex |
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Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race | 19th-21st April |
Hundreds of kayakers and canoeists travel along the canal to the Thames and then to Westminster | Along Kennet & Avon Canal |
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Bun Hanging | 19th April |
Every Good Friday a bun is added to a collection hanging from the ceiling. | Stanford-le-Hope, Essex |
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Britannia Coconutters Boundary to Boundary Dance | 20th April |
Famous moris dancing around the local area by “Blacked up” men. | Rochdale Lancashire |
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Newcastle Easter Vigil Rooftop Singing | 21st April |
Starting in the Castle Keep, hear the salvation story read by candlelight before climbing to the rooftop to greet the Easter Dawn. Followed by hot breakfast at the Cathedral. | Newcastle upon Tyne |
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Festival of Steam & Transport | 21st-22nd April |
The historic dockyard opens for steam trains, food, funfair, live music, steam punk and classic cars. | Chatham, Kent |
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Bolney Pram Race | 22nd April |
Charity fund racing race with contestants pushed along local roads in prams. | Bolney, West Sussex |
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Bottle-kicking & hare pie scramble | 22nd April |
Locals carry a large hare pie and the three small kegs to a local park where it is blessed, and then a rough game is played. | Hallaton, Leicestershire |
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World Coal Carrying Championship | 22nd April |
A race that dates back to 1963 and since then, each year men and women race the streets of Gawthorpe carrying huge sacks of coal. | Wakefield, Yorks |
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London Harness Horse Parade | 22nd April |
Over 100 horse drawn vehicles and carriages, from Shetlands to Shires, will take part from all over Britain, together with a parade of the earliest motor cars, vintage tractors and historic motorcycles. | Ardingly, West Sussex |
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Race of the Bog Men | 22nd April |
A mile-long run across the fields from Boyton Hall to the Chestnut Horse pub by men from two rival villages. | Stowmarket, Suffolk |
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British Asparagus Festival | 23rd April |
The official start of the UK’s eight-week asparagus season launches with the Great British Asparagus Run. It celebrates the first-cut round of asparagus with all the pomp and ceremony you’d expect on Saint George’s Day. | Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire |
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St George’s Court | 23rd April |
Ceremony in the Guildhall to appoint new officers to the Barony of Lichfield, and install Constabled and impose fines. | Lichfield, Staffordshire |
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Harrogate Spring Flower Show | 25th-28th April |
Event includes horticultural nurseries, plant society marquees, show gardens, floristry and flower arranging, opportunity to see and buy horticultural sundries like tooks, summer houses, pots etc, arts and crags and lots of food. | Harrogate, Nth Yorkshire |
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The Morpeth Gathering | 26th-29th April |
The festival includes a vast array of competitions including crafts, performance and writing. The emphasis of the Gathering is firmly upon the native traditions of Northumberland | Morpeth, Northumbria |
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Heffle Cuckoo Fair | 27th April |
Ancient and (almost) annual country fair, with the release of the cuckoos, morris dancers and traditional funfair. | Heathfield, Sussex |
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Shakepeare’s Birthday Celebrations | 27th April |
The birthday brings together performers, artists, the local community and ambassadors from around the world in a celebration of the life and works of William Shakespeare. | Stratford upon Avon, Warks. |
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Lions Brimar Vintage and Classic Vehicle Display | 28th April |
Annual rally of up to 200 vintage vehicles through the town. | Clevedon, Somerset |
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World Dock Pudding Championships | 28th April |
Dock Pudding is a local delicacy little-known outside the Calder Valley area of Yorkshire and the competition was founded in 1971 to help preserve it. | Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire |
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Hocktide Celebrations | 29th April |
A medieval festival that still remains in Hungerford, with a parade around the town and the sitting of an ancient jury. | Hungerford, Berkshire |
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Bourne Meadow Running Auction | 29th April |
An auction to the rights to pasture under a 1742 will, with the last bid made just as a child runs a 200 yard course deemed the winner. | Bourne, Lincolnshire |
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Beltane Fire Festival | 30th April |
Celebrate the start of the summer with this spectacular revival of the ancient Celtic fertility festival in the heart of the Scottish capital. | Edinburgh |
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Race of the Bog Men | 22nd April |
A mile-long run across the fields from Boyton Hall to the Chestnut Horse pub by men from two rival villages. | Stowmarket, Suffolk |
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Ratcliffe Culey Lane Setting | 25th April |
A tradition dating to 1766 when the rates are set for the local roads. Now locals are able to buy sections of grass verge at the annual lane setting auction. | Ratcliffe Culey, Leics |
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This is great – thanks Ian!
This blog is brilliant. I feel humbled for its presence. What a time to be alive, eh? And what an incredible, diverse, wonderful country this is.