Royal Shrovetide Football
A two-day mass football match through the entire town of Ashbourne. Goals are three miles apart. The 'ball' is hand-painted and cork-filled. Up to 1,000 players per side. Shops are boarded up, the river is fair game, and the only rules are: no murder and no motor vehicles. It's been played since at least the 12th century.
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World Gurning Championships
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fireUp Helly Aa
The Lerwick Up Helly Aa is Europe's largest fire festival. A thousand-strong torchlit procession of Vikings in full regalia marches through Shetland's capital before hurling their torches into a replica longship, burning it to ashes. The night ends with ceilidh dancing until dawn. It's dark, it's loud, it smells of paraffin.
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Locals set fire to full-sized tar barrels and carry them through the narrow streets of Ottery St Mary on their shoulders, before rolling them down the hill. Participants wear leather gloves and asbestos aprons. Children get their own smaller barrels. The town smells of burning tar for days.