The West Country has plenty of traditions relating to torch light processions and even burning tar barrel rolling, but the town of Ottery St. Mary has taken this tradition one step further with what must be one of the most risky versions going.
Around the 6th November each year, selected locals run through the street carrying a burning tar barrel. The original tar barrel tradition dates back several hundred years and is possibly related to the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, although the exact reasons are lost in time.
There are 3 categories of barrel carried throughout the day with junior, womens and as they’re known locally the “gert big unz” barrels for the men. All barrels are the wooden type, often used for storing beer, and even the preparation of the barrels is taken very seriously.
Unlike many traditions, the people of Ottery St. Mary run the flaming tar barrels purely for the purposes of keeping up this ancient tradition and not for commercial gains. In fact the centre of the town is effectively shut down from 6pm on the 6th November, and car parking is rather expensive (around £10 a day), but all monies go to keep this going and help police the event.
Visitors are welcome and up to 20,000 are believed to attend the event each year.
Official Ottery St. Mary Tar Barrels web site
Useful resources:
Hotels in Ottery St. Mary
Self-catering cottages in Ottery St. Mary
Tourist attractions in Ottery St. Mary
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[...] festivities on November 5th. Torch lit processions pass through Lewes, in Sussex; residents of Ottery St. Mary in Devon carry flaming barrels of tar through the streets, and in Northern Ireland they don’t [...]