Ludlow Tug of War

The ancient market town of Ludlow is the setting for a tug-of-war between the rival teams of two venerable hostelries which face each other across the Bull Ring. The tuggers from the timbered Feathers and its rival the Bull bring the street to a standstill as they struggle to win the best of three pulls – anyone can join in the fun and hundreds of onlookers turn out to watch. Punch made to a secret recipe is served at the Bull (and I believe their team are usually victorious so it must have some potent ingredients!). An annual tug of war event originally took place at Ludlow on Shrove Tuesday and used to attract up to 2000 competitors – eventually suppressed owing to rowdy behaviour in the nineteenth century, it inspired the revival which now takes place every Boxing Day.

Helpful Hints

If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, the Tug of War usually takes place the day after instead on Monday 27th (this won’t happen for some years as the last time was 2021, when sadly the scheduled event had to be cancelled on the day due to a staff covid outbreak at the Bull- the photo is from 2021 with a few spectators waiting in vain). The event follows a large meet of the local hunt at Ludlow Castle, and if the hunt runs late so does the Tug of War, so timing can be a little flexible.

Click here for the Bull’s website: https://www.bullhotelpubludlow.co.uk  and Facebook page::https://www.facebook.com/pages/The%20Bull%20Hotel,%20Ludlow/268792746486103/

and here for the Feathers Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/thefeathershotelludlow

and website: http://www.feathersatludlow.co.uk