| Where: | Whitby, North Yorkshire- procession from 199 steps to Whitby Brewery |
| When: | Friday evening in late September |
| Time: | 7pm onwards |
John Barleycorn is the personification of the barley crop and the beer brewed from it, who has been part of the song culture of the British Isles for centuries and whose name has become synonymous with alcohol. His ritual sacrifice at harvest time follows the stages in the growth and development of the crop and his story has been adapted by the organisers of the Krampus Run (see separate article) to create a magical performance involving the dissection and evisceration of the eponymous figure so that all can enjoy the bounty of the brew. The ceremony here is just a few years old but draws upon traditions and influences from time immemorial with an ancient, timeless atmosphere. It all begins with a solemn procession through the town, which when we visited began on Church Street, just along from the famous 199 steps. John Barleycorn is paraded through the streets accompanied by drumming, banners and fantastically costumed attendants, making his way to the Abbey headland and the Whitby Brewery, the appropriate location for the rituals to begin and with the atmospheric Abbey ruins as backdrop. Various parts of John’s anatomy are removed in the grisly ceremony , including his ribbon entrails and his genitalia, to a backdrop of evocative film and music on the indoor stage, before a piñata in human shape is whacked heartily with sticks to reveal prizes within his torso in the courtyard. Various dangly bits are tossed over the boundary wall, and there is dancing and general jollification, and naturally an appreciation of the fruits of the barley crop.
Helpful Hints
In 2024 it was on Friday September 20th- 2025 date is yet to be announced but likely to be 19th.
Food and drink are available at the onsite Brewery tap house. The car park on the Abbey Headland is convenient, and was free after 6pm when we went. Less physically able visitors can join the procession at the top of the hill near the Brewery- it’s a steep pull up the 199 steps.
Click here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WhitbyKrampusRun
and here for the Brewery: https://www.facebook.com/WhitbyBrewery
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