| Where: | Whitby, North Yorkshire at the Fish Pier near the Lifeboat Station; Blakeney, Norfolk at the Quay |
| When: | Whitby Saturday in early to mid August; Blakeney late July (weekday varies from one year to another) |
| Time: | Whitby from around noon; Blakeney usually morning from 9.30 |
The Greasy Pole is a long-established and well known concept but surprisingly few competitions take place nowadays, with two well-loved contests held as part of the Regatta in each of the two towns of Whitby and Blakeney. The competitions were once common at seaside centres around the British coast but are now scarce, though still a very popular attraction for contestants and spectators alike. The rules are simple: hopeful contestants must proceed along a slim horizontal wooden beam which is covered in a slippery substance (traditionally lard), with the aim of retrieving a flag at the end. The difficult part is avoiding sliding off into the waters beneath, and most competitors end up taking a dip into the depths below, to the delight of the assembled crowd. The Whitby event was a staple in the calendar for many years, though it stopped in 2015 and was newly revived in 2026, while Blakeney’s event has been a fixture annually for well over a hundred years (barring pestilence and warfare). The 30-foot-long Blakeney pole is suspended from the side of a barge, while at Whitby the 37-foot pole is set up at the Fish Pier and in both cases the challenge takes place at High Tide so that while the contestants will get a drenching in the water when they almost inevitably plunge into the drink, happily they should survive the experience. Potential pole-walkers should bear in mind that their attire will suffer from wet and mud as well as the sticky lubricant on the pole!
Helpful Hints
In 2026, the Whitby competition took place on Saturday 8th August at 12.10 pm, and the Blakeney contest was on Monday July 20th at 9.30 am. 2027 details are yet to be announced, though the Whitby Regatta will take place from 14th-16th August 2027.
Anyone can have a try, and there are prizes for successful pole-walkers. Both events take place as integral parts of their respective Regattas, which each have a range of other maritime themed attractions and sailing competitions. Admission is free.
Click here for Blakeney Sailing Club: https://blakeneysailing.co.uk
and here for more: https://lovenorfolk.co.uk/event/the-blakeney-greasy-pole/ and https://lovenorfolk.co.uk
Click here for Whitby: https://www.whitbyregatta.co.uk
and here: https://www.facebook.com/whitbyregatta/?fref=ts
Whitby programmes are available at the Regatta HQ near the Whalebones.
If you know of other Greasy Pole competitions surviving in the UK, drop a line in the Comments please!
The photographs are from Whitby in 2026, and the featured image is the winner claiming the flag (and earlier attempt all failed, including a disqualification for hanging off the pole rather than walking along it, which meant the flag had to be re-fixed by a passenger on a boat!).
If you prefer your greasy poles to be vertical with competitors attempting to shin up the stick for a prize at the top, there are such contests at Egremont Crab Fair and Irvine Marymass Festival.
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