World Egg Throwing Championships

What to expect

The championships take place in the main ring of Swaton Vintage Day. The classic event is the throw and catch: pairs start ten metres apart and step back after every successful catch until an egg breaks, with the longest successful throw winning. Other events have included an egg trebuchet contest, a human target event and Russian Egg Roulette, in which competitors smash eggs on their own foreheads hoping theirs is hard-boiled. Around the ring are vintage cars, tractors and steam engines, live music and a steel band, craft stalls, a beer tent, a hog roast and children's rides.

The story behind it

Egg tossing is an old village-fete favourite, and Swaton took it rather more seriously than most, turning it into a world championship that has been part of the village's summer vintage day for years. The contests are run under the banner of the World Egg Throwing Federation, which has attracted teams from as far as New Zealand. The whole day is a charity effort: the parish says it has raised over £130,000 for causes including air ambulances, cancer research, children's hospices and the British Red Cross.

Getting there and home

Swaton is just off the A52 between Grantham and Boston, near the A15 and A17. Parking is on site, which keeps everything close together. Sleaford is the nearest practical station, about eight miles away, with trains from Nottingham, Lincoln, Peterborough and Skegness; Heckington is a little closer but has fewer services. From either, a pre-booked taxi is the easiest way to the field.

Watching, taking part and tips

Spectators are welcome around the main ring, and the egg events are usually open for teams to enter on the day. If you are taking part, wear clothes you can wash, or throw away. Stand back from the trebuchet. The site is a field, so bring sun cream and a hat, or waterproofs, depending on the weather. It is a relaxed, family-friendly day out, with plenty for children beyond the eggs.

A brief timeline of the day

The organisers are now advertising Sunday 27 June 2027. Their provisional main-ring programme opens the gates at 10am, with a selected vehicle parade at 11am and the novelty dog show at noon. The eggs take over in the afternoon: pairs at 2pm, under-13 pairs at 2.30pm, the static relay at 3pm and the trebuchet challenge at 3.30pm. That gives your visit a handy shape, though the organisers are clear that ring events are still subject to confirmation, so check again before booking a taxi around one particular heat. If you'd like to see several disciplines, set aside the afternoon rather than turning up for a single throw. Keep the current programme to hand and ask which ring is in use; browsing the vehicle displays is fun, but less so if you miss the event you came for.

Taking part

Each discipline calls for a different kind of teamwork. The static relay puts ten people along a line passing twelve eggs one at a time, with breakages adding time penalties — quite a different challenge from finding one reliable catcher for the pairs. Russian Egg Roulette is one against one, with six eggs and only one of them raw; its preliminary rounds are advertised outside Egg Headquarters. Places are limited for some events, and the organisers recommend booking ahead. Before rounding up friends, check the category, team size and registration with Egg Headquarters, because not every event takes a casual pair on the day. Spectators can make use of the differences too: follow a relay for shared jeopardy, or watch the roulette for a contest involving remarkably little throwing. The final programme will say where each event and its final take place.

Accessibility and families

For directions, use the organisers' How to Find Us page. It puts the site on the B1394 near Swaton and gives NG34 0JP as the sat-nav postcode. The contact address in the website footer has a different postcode, so copying the first address you spot is an easy way to start the day in the wrong place. Save the visitor directions before you travel, and follow the show's approach signs and stewards for the last stretch. If you're being dropped off, agree a meeting point once you know how the entrance works; a big display field and a postal address aren't necessarily the same spot to find your driver. If you need accessible parking, drop-off or information on ground conditions, ask the organisers. A published driving route doesn't tell you about those, or whether the walk from a railway station is manageable.

Make a day of it nearby

Heckington Windmill and the Hub in Sleaford make two contrasting additions to a Lincolnshire weekend. The windmill's website describes its eight-sail machinery, visitor centre, museum, gardens and tea room. It also says the mill is awaiting repairs after storm damage but still welcoming visitors, so check the latest notice before promising anyone turning sails. The Hub is all about contemporary craft, design and creative arts, with changing exhibitions and a CaféBar. General entry is free, though some workshops and events charge. Pick the mill if you like the machinery link with the vintage show, or the Hub for an indoor change of pace. Check both calendars for your dates, and give either its own stop rather than giving up the afternoon egg programme to cram everything in.

Questions people ask

Where it is

Map pin shows the approximate area where the event happens. Open in OpenStreetMap ↗

Go straight to the source

Independent research. The organiser’s own information always wins — we have not visited or tested the journeys.

• Swaton Parish Council: Vintage Fair ↗
• Calendar Customs: Swaton egg throwing ↗
• Organiser: provisional show programme ↗
• Organiser: egg disciplines and registration ↗
• Organiser: visitor directions ↗
• Organiser: wider show and conditional flypast ↗
• Heckington Windmill: visiting and repair notice ↗
• Hub Sleaford: exhibitions and visitor information ↗