Traditional date
Traditional games · England
Hurling the Silver Ball, St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
On Feast Monday children hurl a silver ball round St Ives until the noon handback to the Mayor.
8 February 2027
ROUND-UP GUIDE · 9 EVENTS
Shrove Tuesday’s ancient chaos.
Shrove Tuesday was once the last big blow-out before Lent, and in a handful of towns it still is. Whole communities pour into the streets to play mass ball games that have barely changed in centuries, with goals that can be miles apart.
Olney runs its pancake race, Scarborough closes its foreshore for mass skipping, and in the Scottish Borders, Jedburgh plays its own Ba’ game a couple of days later.
At a glance
- Hurling the Silver Ball, St Ives 8 February 2027 · St Ives, Cornwall Stay nearby ↗
- Alnwick Shrovetide Football 9 February 2027 · Alnwick, Northumberland Stay nearby ↗
- Atherstone Ball Game 9 February 2027 · Atherstone, Warwickshire Stay nearby ↗
- Olney Pancake Race 9 February 2027 · Olney, Buckinghamshire Stay nearby ↗
- Royal Shrovetide Football 9–10 February 2027 · Ashbourne, Derbyshire Stay nearby ↗
- Scarborough Skipping Day 9 February 2027 · Scarborough, North Yorkshire Stay nearby ↗
- Sedgefield Ball Game 9 February 2027 · Sedgefield, County Durham Stay nearby ↗
- St Columb Hurling 9 February 2027 · St Columb Major, Cornwall Stay nearby ↗
- Jedburgh Ba’ Game 11 February 2027 · Jedburgh, Scottish Borders Stay nearby ↗
Traditional date
Traditional games · England
Alnwick Shrovetide Football
Alnwick, Northumberland
Two parishes battle for a ball thrown from Alnwick Castle, ending with a swim in the River Aln.
9 February 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · England
Atherstone Ball Game
Atherstone, Warwickshire
A two-hour scramble for a giant leather ball along Long Street on Shrove Tuesday.
9 February 2027
Date announced
Unusual race · England
Olney Pancake Race
Olney, Buckinghamshire
Shrove Tuesday race carrying frying pans and pancakes.
9 February 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · England
Royal Shrovetide Football
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
A two-day, whole-town game of medieval football between the Up'ards and Down'ards.
9–10 February 2027
Traditional date
Folk tradition · England
Scarborough Skipping Day
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Hundreds skip with long ropes on Scarborough's closed seafront road every Shrove Tuesday.
9 February 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · England
Sedgefield Ball Game
Sedgefield, County Durham
A teamless Shrove Tuesday free-for-all that begins at the bull ring on Sedgefield's green.
9 February 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · England
St Columb Hurling
St Columb Major, Cornwall
Townsmen and Countrymen chase a silver ball through the streets and fields of St Columb.
9 February 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · Scotland
Jedburgh Ba’ Game
Jedburgh, Scottish Borders
Uppies and Doonies battle through Jedburgh's town centre for ribboned leather balls.
11 February 2027
“Stay nearby” links go to Booking.com, and each event guide also has train links. These are affiliate links — what that means.