Littleborough Rushbearing Festival

Littleborough Rushbearing Festival

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Men in clogs and bells dancing with sticks, yes its Littleborough Rushbearing Festival but if your idea of the festival is those opening words then you are out of touch with a festival that is as diverse as it is colourful, not just men but lots of women and children too, and yes, some of them dressed in clogs and bells and dancing too.

The festival began with a folk sing-a-round at the Red Lion in Littleborough on Friday night followed by a day of fun in Harehill Park which, along with the weekend long fairground, included dog agility, a Viking combat display, Wardle Brass Band and of course the Rushcart Procession – which started at the King William pub, Shore, headed down Shore Road to Hare Hill Park and on to Littleborough Square before taking to Hollingworth Road to The Wine Press at Hollingworth Lake.

Today (Sunday) the weather was dreadful with incessant rain but still the Rushcart bearers were out and ready to process, this time starting at Rakewood pulling the Rushcart along the lakeside road to the Visitor Centre at Hollingworth Lake then, after a couple of hours of dancing, onto The Wine Press and more dancing before the final leg of the Rushcart’s journey to Littleborough Square. 

Dancers involved in this year’s festival included Rochdale Morris, Poacher Morris, Eryri Morris, Crown Rapper, Ryburn Longswood, Pig Dyke Molly, Lamb and Flag Morris and Thieving Magpies.

Talking to Rochdale Online News, Peter Owen, Squire of Poacher Morris, said: “It’s been a good weekend. Dancing makes us happy and it makes the people watching happy, everyone ends up joining in, tapping their feet and clapping, and it makes it a great atmosphere.

“We’ve been dancing now for 13 years and go out 3 or 4 weekend each year, we really enjoy dancing.”

Terry Armitage of Thieving Magpies commented: “The make up is a disguise, so people don’t know who’s dancing, and it works, someone’s mum was watching and she didn’t realise it was her son.

“We dance because we enjoy it and its keeping a tradition alive. It’s been reported that Morris Dancing is dying out, but it’s not there are younger teams starting and children of dancers are starting their own teams. There are even students who have started dancing.”

A spokesman for Pig Dyke Molly (named after a drainage ditch) added: “We have been performing since the early 1990s. Our aim is to take the essence of Molly, shake it by the scruff of its neck, and present it in a way that entertains 21st century audiences. 

Hosting the event were Rochdale Morris, speaking on their behalf, Dorothy Monks said: "Rochdale Morris wants to thank the businesses of Littleborough for their support without which the Rushbearing couldn’t have gone ahead."