Browse through our blog posts to find out what life is like at Hoe Grange Holidays along with some great ideas for days out in the Peak District.
On Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, the town of Ashbourne takes on a strange appearance with shops and houses boarded up. If you are not a local you will be wondering what on earth is going on! It's all in preparation for the ancient game of Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football. As 2 o’clock draws near the town springs to life and crowds start gathering on Shaw Croft car park in anticipation of the start of the game. It is basically a frantic football game played through the streets with hundreds of people and few rules. The painted lea...
Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football is a quirky tradition - basically a manic game of football played through the streets of Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which goes on all afternoon and evening from turning up the painted leather ball at 2 pm until well after dark. Shrovetide football in Ashbourne was first recorded as long ago as 1682, and hasn't changed much over the centuries, except that it is now watched by hoards of people from all over the UK, not just the locals. Two teams, Up'ards, born North of the River Henmore, ...
This fantastic video gives a little of the flavour of Ashbourne's Royal Shrovetide football game played Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday through the streets of our town. Note the pre-match training all happens in the pub! Few rules, hundreds of players, Up'ards against Down'ards (depends which side of the river you are born), and goals 3 miles apart. The "hug" is a tough place to be, not for the fainthearted! Long may the game continue. David...