Hotels near the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
A 17th-century tradition to rid the streets of evil spirits is revived every year as fearless men, women and children run through Ottery St Mary carrying blazing tar barrels. Thousands of spectators enjoy the thrill of avoiding the runners.
Having been soaked in tar, the barrels are set ablaze. Flames ten feet high lick the sky as sweating locals stagger beneath their weight. As one man tires, his brother, father or even grandfather steps in and takes over the burning load, continuing until past midnight.
This is a truly exhilarating event - running away requires considerable mobility and provides a thrill unlike any other, as a seemingly impenetrable sea of people miraculously parts to allow the burning barrels through.
One can only wonder how this spectacular festival must have caught the imagination of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was born in the town in October 1772. Perhaps it was a nascent memory of the great poet's which led him to write this refrain in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
"About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white."

Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels Information
When: Nov 2013 (annual)
Where: Ottery St Mary
Cost: Free
Opening Hours: 4pm-12am; children's barrels at 4pm, then women, then men, at about 9pm
Address: Ottery St Mary
Hotels near Ottery St Mary
Oban
Aberdeen
Inverness
Inverness
Fort William
Banchory
Fort William
Edinburgh
Falkirk
Dundee
Dunfermline
Edinburgh
St Andrews
Edinburgh
Livingston
Isle of Arran
Perth
Dundee
Dundee
Strathaven
Glasgow
Crianlarich
Dunoon
Lanark
Glasgow
Glenrothes
Drymen
Glasgow
Perth
Selkirk
Lockerbie
Dumfries
Moffat
Hexham
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Stockton-on-Tees
Beamish
Newcastle
Hartlepool
Sunderland
Darlington
Middlesbrough
Durham
Allensford
Brancepeth
South Shields
Ambleside
Chester
Preston
Chester
Liverpool
Bury
Manchester
Blackpool
Burnley
Chester
Shap, nr. Penrith
Preston
Widnes
Preston
Wigan
Blackburn
Rochdale
Liverpool
Wilmslow
Douglas
Bury
Frodsham
Bowness-on-Windermere
Burnley
Penrith
Altrincham
Southport, Liverpool Coast
Grasmere
Oldham
St. Annes-on-Sea
Warrington
Kendal
Boroughbridge
Rotherham
Pickering
York
Pontefract
York
York
Knaresborough
Driffield
Bradford
Sheffield
Richmond
Wakefield
Beverley
Doncaster
Sheffield
Bradford
Doncaster
Sheffield
Hull
Ilkley
York
Leeds
Harrogate
Lichfield
Leicester
Leamington Spa
Coventry
Kenilworth
Ullesthorpe
Stratford upon Avon
Stoke-on-Trent
Studley
Henley-in-Arden
Coventry
Birmingham
Nr Tamworth
Solihull
Kettering
Leominster
Sutton Coldfield
Market Harborough
Stratford upon Avon
Birmingham
Telford
Alsager
Wrexham
Betws-y-Coed
Swansea
Cardiff
Chepstow
Cardiff
Cardiff
Usk
Cardiff
Newport
Llanelli
Pembroke
Nottingham
Buxton
Worksop
Kegworth
Horncastle
Lincoln
Nottingham
Grimsby
Boston
Long Eaton
Grantham
Newark
Corby
Oakham
Louth
Retford
Skegness
Worksop
Colchester
Stevenage
Welwyn Garden City
Chelmsford
Ipswich
Colchester
Norwich
Skegness
Cambridge
Newmarket
Swaffham
Chelmsford
Norwich
Norwich
Hunstanton
Ipswich
Cambridge
Peterborough
Bury St. Edmunds
King’s Lynn
Banbury
Steyning
Cowes
Reigate
Salisbury
Eastbourne
Gravesend
Sevenoaks
Farnham
Oxford
Lyndhurst
Bicester
Brighton
Banbury
Folkestone
Sittingbourne
Dover
Windsor
Bognor Regis
Southampton
Weybridge
Portsmouth
Hythe
Hemel Hempstead
Midgham
Wokingham
Horley
Buckingham
Haywards Heath
Canterbury
Reading
Hove
Tonbridge
Milton Keynes
Eastbourne
Maidstone
Hastings
Clevedon
Tiverton
Ilminster
Bath
Bradford-on-Avon
Malmesbury
Lostwithiel
Newton Abbot
Axbridge
Dorchester
Torquay
Bristol
St Austell
Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Falfield
Torquay
Radstock
Exeter
Cheltenham
Sherborne
Weymouth
Newton Abbot
Bournemouth
Bristol
Swindon
Chippenham
Bath
Falmouth
Wells
Swindon
Shaftesbury
Minehead
Near Badminton
Plymouth
Newquay
Bromley
Harrow
London
London
London
London
Hounslow
Hammersmith
London
London
Epping
London
London
London
London
London
Ilford
London
London
London
Watford
London
London
Jersey
Guernsey
Guernsey
Content provided by Frommers Unlimited, copyright © 2012: Whatsonwhen Ltd, John Wiley & Sons, Inc



08457 76 76 76