Usually December
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Glastonbury Holy Thorn Cutting
Glastonbury, Somerset
Schoolchildren cut a flowering Holy Thorn sprig to send to the monarch for Christmas.
A schoolday in December before Christmas; the date varies
BY TYPE
Ceremony & pageantry.
A ceremony can turn the everyday business of counting, locking up or keeping watch into something extraordinary. Swan Upping takes its work out onto the Thames, the Ceremony of the Keys belongs to the Tower of London, and Ripon’s hornblower sets the watch. These occasions have a purpose as well as a striking look. Knowing what's being done, and by whom, often adds more to the visit than grabbing the closest possible photograph.
Other entries mix formal roles with distinctive local characters. The Clowns’ Service gathers a very particular congregation; Hungerford’s Hocktide has its own offices and customs; Whitby’s Penny Hedge draws attention to a small but remarkable task. The Tichborne Dole offers another way into how a place relates to its inherited occasion. Read each guide for the story, keeping the uncertain origins apart from the details the current organiser can confirm.
The Common Ridings at Hawick, Selkirk and Langholm bring horses, processions and strong local identity to the collection. Each is its own programme, not a version of one event with swappable arrangements. Decide whether you're after one particular ceremonial moment or time with the wider celebration, then check where the public is welcome. Watching, joining a ride, attending worship and paying to enter a building are different things, even when they happen side by side.
Start your practical plan with access and booking. Some ceremonies use controlled spaces or limited admission, while others can be watched from public areas under the day's arrangements. An old photograph won't confirm the next date, a free place or unrestricted photography. Look for the current instructions in the individual guide and follow the people in charge when you arrive. A little patience suits this category: wait for the words, the movement and the finish, and let a modest action reveal why a community still makes an occasion of it.
19 events
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Grimaldi Clowns’ Service
Haggerston, London
Clowns in full costume attend a church service in Hackney honouring Joseph Grimaldi.
7 February 2027
Usually March
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Oranges and Lemons Service
St Clement Danes, Strand, London
Schoolchildren receive an orange and a lemon as the church bells ring out the nursery rhyme.
Around the third Thursday in March
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Tichborne Dole
Tichborne, Hampshire
Flour is blessed and handed out to local families outside Tichborne House each Lady Day.
25 March 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Hungerford Hocktide (Tutti Day)
Hungerford, Berkshire
Tutti Men with flower poles collect kisses and hand out oranges as Hungerford holds its court.
6 April 2027
Date announced
Ceremony & pageantry · Wales
Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza
Llandudno, Conwy
Steam engines, street performers and Victorian dress fill Llandudno’s town centre.
1–3 May 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Planting the Penny Hedge
Whitby, North Yorkshire
A small hazel hedge is woven on the Esk shore in Whitby to stand three tides.
5 May 2027
Usually May
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Knutsford Royal May Day
Knutsford, Cheshire
A costumed procession, sanded pavements and a May Queen crowned on Knutsford Heath.
The first Saturday in May
Date announced
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Rowell Fair Proclamation
Rothwell, Northamptonshire
A mounted bailiff proclaims Rothwell’s charter fair on an early-morning circuit.
24 May 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Lichfield Greenhill Bower
Lichfield, Staffordshire
Men in armour are inspected, then a procession, Bower Queen and fair fill the city.
31 May 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Hawick Common Riding
Hawick, Scottish Borders
Hundreds of riders follow the Cornet round Hawick's boundaries in a week of Border pageantry.
10–12 June 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Lanimer Day
Lanark, South Lanarkshire
Lanark crowns its Lanimer Queen amid bands, riders and a parade of decorated lorries.
10 June 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Selkirk Common Riding
Selkirk, Scottish Borders
Hundreds ride the marches before flags are cast in the Market Place in memory of Flodden.
18 June 2027
Date announced
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Galashiels Braw Lads’ Gathering
Galashiels, Scottish Borders
Riders carry the burgh flag through ceremonies recalling Galashiels’ history.
3 July 2027
Usually July
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Duns Summer Festival Reivers Rideout
Duns, Scottish Borders
The Reiver and Reiver’s Lass lead a Borders town’s summer riding celebrations.
Usually early July during Duns Summer Festival
Usually July
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Swan Upping
River Thames, Sunbury to Abingdon
The King's Swan Uppers row up the Thames for five days counting and checking cygnets.
Five days, Monday to Friday, in mid-July (2026: 13-17 July)
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Langholm Common Riding
Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway
Riders, a crown of thistles and a bannock-and-herring emblem mark the Muckle Toon's boundaries.
30 July 2027
Usually TBC
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Ceremony of the Keys
Tower of London, London
The Tower of London is locked up for the night in a short ceremony held every evening.
Every night of the year at 9.30pm (free tickets, released in batches and snapped up fast)
Usually TBC
Ceremony & pageantry · England
Ripon Hornblower: Setting the Watch
Ripon, North Yorkshire
Every night at 9pm a hornblower sounds a horn at the obelisk in Ripon's Market Square.
Every night of the year at 9pm in Ripon Market Square (free)