Main content
Shrovetide: A Local Game for Local People
Every year the idyllic town of Ashbourne, Derbyshire is transformed into the battleground for a sporting tradition that's said to be more than a thousand years old.
The two-day game takes places across Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. The rules are simple: Two teams, Down'ards and Up'ards, compete to goal a ball on stone plinths that are 3-miles apart. Passionate players scrum through the streets, charge across fields and even wade through rivers to give their team an advantage.
BBC Radio Derby's Liam Price takes a closer look at the medieval game that brings a whole town together.
Duration:
This clip is from
More clips from BBC Radio Derby
![]()
Knitted objects spark memories for people with Dementia
Duration: 04:19
![]()
BBC Introducing: Paris Paloma
Duration: 03:14
![]()
Pigs keep cool thanks to water pistols
Duration: 04:49
![]()
Remembering Dave Myers
Duration: 09:06





