Royal Shrovetide Football

Can you imagine leaping into an icy cold river on a winter's day? Well that is exactly what most young men in Ashbourne have been doing today! There are many strange traditions in the Peak District, but perhaps one of the most unusual is the Royal Shrovetide Football played through the streets of Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.

The game was first recorded as long ago as 1682; by 1928 it had become so respectable that the Prince of Wales threw up the ball. There are two teams, "Up'ards" people born North of the River Henmore, and "Down'ards" born to the South. The ball, slightly larger than a traditional football is thrown up on Shaw Croft car park in the middle of the town at 2pm and the teams strive to get it to opposite sides of the town to the two goals which are 3 miles apart. The ball can be kicked, carried, or thrown, but generally passes along in a "hug", invisible to the spectator. An experience not for the faint hearted, but certainly a spectacle worth seeing!

To experience more of our unusual Derbyshire traditions why not come and stay with us on a farm in May and June when many of our picturesque villages display beautiful, colourful well dressings.