ROYAL SHROVETIDE FOOTBALL

ASHBOURNE, DERBYSHIRE, 25 FEB 2009

1 Day Coach Tour: £45

Imagine a game of football that involves an entire village, where the goalposts are on opposite sides of town (a distance of 3 miles apart), and the only rules are no murder or manslaughter, no play after midnight, and no transportation of the ball by motorised vehicle. Welcome to Royal Shrovetide football!

On match days the Derbyshire town is boarded up in preparation for the annual match, and teams meet in the town centre ready for kick off. People living north of Henmore Brook play for the "Uppards" whilst people living south of the stream play for the "Down'ards".

Play starts at 2pm and the two teams attempt to gain control of the ball and then scrum or "hug" the ball towards the opposition goalpost. The hug often involves hundreds of players and can be vicious towards the centre where the ball is located. Villagers on the edge of the crowd try to push the hug or scrum towards the opposition goal. The whole spectacle needs to be seen to be believed, especially when the ball falls into the river and everybody jumps in after it!

The history of this event is as fascinating as the match itself. Nobody knows exactly when the event started but it has been played for centuries. Locals believe the game used to be played with a human head as a ball, which was tossed into the crowd following an execution. Edward III tried to ban the match in 1349 when he claimed "it interfered with archery practice". In 1878 the game was banned after a man drowned in the stream.

Currently the match still takes place every year and we visit Ashbourne on Shrove Wednesday (25 Feb 2009) to watch or participate in this amazing event! We depart London at 9.30am and arrive in Derbyshire around 12.30 in time for the match. We will then stay until 5.30pm when we will drive back to London for the party to continue at Walkabout at Embankment (estimated time back in London is 8.30pm). Whether you come on your own or with mates, it’s a fantastic day out seeing the "real England" and meeting loads of new people.