Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football

About

Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football is a game played in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne every Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Unlike a conventional football match, the game is played over two eight-hour periods, the goals are 3 miles apart and there are very few rules!

Want to know more? Read our complete guide to Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football

Shrovetide Football is played using a hand-painted leather ball with a cork inner. The game begins at 2pm each day, when the ball is 'turned up' from a stone plinth on Shaw Croft car park in Ashbourne town centre. The ball is thrown into the air and into the 'hug', a large group of players who try to move the ball to their goal by pushing against the opposition.

Your team depends on which side of the Henmore Brook you were born on: those born on the South are Down'ards and try to goal the ball at the old Clifton Mill. Those born on the North are Up'ards and try to goal the ball at the old Sturston Mill.

Spectators come from all around to watch the annual game, and thousands of people follow the ball all day, through the streets of the town, over local fields and in the river.

Local shop owners prepare for the game by boarding up the front of their shops and windows to protect them from the hug!