Bottle kicking and the hare pie scrambling
When: 5 April, from 10am.
Where: Hallaton, Leicestershire.
Every Easter Monday, the villages of Hallaton and Medbourne engage in a riotous bottle-kicking contest. Believed to date to the 1700s, the event begins with a parade through both villages, where a hearty hare pie (nowadays made of beef) is hurled into the crowd. Once the "hare pie scramble" is won, the real battle commences. On a best-of-three basis, the contest sees each team wrestle the "bottle" (a small keg or barrel) over ditches, hedges, barbed wire and a stream. The game is as ugly as it is competitive and can last for hours. goleicestershire.com
Scarecrow festival
When: 1-3 May, 9.30am-6pm.
Where: Urchfont, Wiltshire.
Once a year the people of Urchfont create competing tableaux of scarecrows positioned throughout the village. Last year's theme was "stage and screen" (featuring Fiddler on the Roof and The Jungle Book); this year's is "pairs". Now in its 14th year, the event attracts more than 50 entries, and you don't have to make a scarecrow to join in the fun: visitors can buy a programme and follow the scarecrow trail. Urchfont.org.uk; trail maps £2.50
Cheese rolling
When 3 May, from 10.30am.
Where Stilton, Cambridgeshire.
While the famous Cooper's Hill cheese-rolling competition in Gloucestershire has been cancelled amid health and safety fears, the Cambridgeshire village of Stilton – birthplace of the king of cheeses – is raring to go. This annual knockout event attracts teams from as far afield as France, Poland and the US. Because real Stilton is rather smelly and ends up covered in grit, the teams of four instead roll wooden "cheeses" (sections of telegraph poles chopped up and painted white) down the high street for around 100 yards in a bid to win a 16lb Stilton and a tray of local beer. Enter by 11am on the day for the separate men's, women's and junior contests – the £5 entry fee is waived if you come in fancy dress (this year's theme is "international dance"). stilton.org
Jack in the Green parade
When: 30 April-3 May, from 10.15am.
Where: Hastings, East Sussex.
With some of the most bizarre costumes in the country, this event dates back to the 18th century, when the garlands worn to May Day festivities were a matter of great competition among the various town guilds. The chimney sweeps created garlands so enormous they hid the person underneath them, and the costume eventually took on a personality of its own: Jack in the Green. Jack – a 9ft-tall frame covered in twigs and leaves, with a leather mask – was revived by Mad Jack's Morris, a Morris dancing troupe, in 1983. He leads a parade of 1,000 dancers through the old town to the castle, accompanied by garlanded, bearded drummers, where he is slain to free the spirit of summer. hastingsjack.co.uk
Coal carrying
When: 5 April, from 12pm.
Where: Gawthorp, West Yorkshire.
What began in 1963 as a bar-room bet between two friends is now recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. The men's race kicks off first, with competitors carrying a 50kg bag of coal over an uphill course 1,012.5m long in a bid to be crowned the "King of the Coil [sic] Humpers". The women lug a 20kg load over the same distance. The "world" records are 4.06 minutes for men, 5.05 minutes for the ladies. Only 30 competitors may enter each race, but spectators are welcome. gawthorpe.ndo.co.uk/coal
Woolsack racing
When: 31 May, from 10am.
Where: Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
Tetbury thrived in the Middle Ages as a market for wool, and for the past 30 years locals have been running in pairs and fours between two pubs, up the steep Gumstool Hill, carrying a large sack of sheep's clothing. Men carry a 27kg sack, women carry 16kg; you can enter a team for £20, and the winning teams can win up to £200. There's also a street fair and entertainment. tetburywoolsack.co.uk
Hunting the earl of Rone
When: 28-31 May, final procession from 6pm.
Where: Combe Martin, Devon.
Banned in 1837 because of licentiousness and drunken behaviour, the Hunting of the Earl of Rone – revived in 1974 – is a four-day pageant in which the 600 villagers of Combe Martin re-enact the legend of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who was forced to flee from Ireland in 1607. Shipwrecked in the local bay, Raparee Cove, he was finally caught by Grenadiers. Now when the Earl is "found" on the Monday night, he is mounted back-to-front on a donkey and paraded to the sea, frequently falling when "shot" at by the Grenadiers. At the final shooting on the beach, he is thrown into the sea (happily, by this time the actor has been replaced by a dummy). earl-of-rone.org.uk
Nutters' dance
When: 3 April, from 9am.
Where: Bacup, Lancashire.
The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers of Bacup have to be the country's most eccentric dance troupe. Every Easter Saturday they parade through the town, accompanied by a band, performing five "garland" dances (each dancer carries a garland above his head) and two "nut" dances, in which they clap together the wooden discs which are strapped to their hands, knees and waist. The dances are thought to originate from 18th century Moorish pirates, who relocated to Lancashire via Cornwall, bringing the dances with them. The Nutters are the only surviving troupe practising this kind of folk dance in the country. coconutters.co.uk
'Obby 'Oss festival
When: 1 May, from 10am.
Where: Padstow, Cornwall.
Reputed to be the oldest dance festival in the country, 'Obby 'Oss (for "hobby horse") is said to be Celtic and celebrates the coming of spring. Dozens of locals playing accordions and drums and singing Celtic songs follow two osses (one red, one blue), each adorned with a mask and a black cape, under which the men try to catch young maidens as they pass through town. To be caught under their cloaks is thought to bring good luck and encourage fertility. padstowlive.com
Eel throwing
When: 1 May, 10.30am-4pm.
Where: Ely, Cambridgeshire.
On May Day, the people of Ely dedicate an entire day to the city's namesake – the humble eel. As well as tastings, folk music and a parade with Ellie the Eel (a giant rendering of the Anguilla anguilla, created by local schoolchildren) there is the eel-throwing competition, a sport dating back almost half a decade. Happily, these "eels" are tights stuffed with socks, with rice providing ballast. Entry is open to all. eastcambs.gov.uk/tourism; visiteastofengland.com
