Royal Shrovetide Football, Ashbourne
The small Derbyshire town of Ashbourne is home to an ancient and extremely unusual sporting event – the Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which lasts for two days and involves hundreds of participants. This pre-Lent tradition is believed to date back to the 12th century, with one slightly gruesome theory being that it originated with the head of an executed person being thrown into a crowd of spectators. Over the centuries, the sport has developed two teams – the Up’Ards and Down’Ards, respectively born north or south of Henmore Brook, a river that runs through the town. These days,…