Shrovetide football

Shrovetide football is a very old Ashbourne tradition but we have never been to see it before. It is played with two opposing sides 'Up'ards' and 'Down'ards' with loyalties depending on which side of the river you were born. There are few rules (one of the earliest apparently was that you couldn't kill anyone) and it seems more like rugby with 1000 people or more in a huge scrum. All the shops close and get boarded up. It was a glorious sunny day when we went on the Wednesday and when the match began for a moment we were rather closer to the action than we'd intended to be - when the ball moves it happens very fast! Definitely an experience!

• The game has been played from at least 1667, although the exact origins are unknown because the earliest records were destroyed in a fire
• It is played over two days on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, with it starting at 14:00 each day and ending at 22:00
• The two teams that play the game are known as the Up'Ards and the Down'Ards
• The actual process of "goaling" a ball requires a player to hit it against the millstone three successive times
• The scorer is elected en route to the goal and would typically be someone who lives in Ashbourne