Pancake Day: Revellers across Britain celebrate pancake day with quirky events

Thousands across the UK have celebrated Shrove Tuesday with unique events ranging from annual pancake races to medieval-style football games. 

Always preceding Ash Wednesday, Pancake Day falls 47 days before Easter and many people celebrate the last day of the Shrovetide season by gorging on food, before starting the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.  

The market town of Olney in Buckinghamshire has been holding its annual pancake race since 1445, and claims it is the oldest one in the world. 

In their annual tradition, teams of four from Worshipful Company of Livery Poulters competed in the Inter Livery Pancake Race wearing either fancy dress or full regalia.

They raced around Guildhall in London while tossing their pancakes and winners fittingly won a frying pan as well as a trophy.

In Kirkgate, Harrogate, clergy members including the dean of Ripon Cathedral raced down the street as part of the town’s annual Pancake Day event. 

At Leadenhall Market in London, another pancake race was underway today. Hosted by the Lamb Tavern, an 18th century pub in the centre of the Victorian market, the race is held annually and invites the public to take part.

Also a tradition on Shrove Tuesday is the Royal Shrovetide Football Match – a ‘medieval football’ game played in the town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. 

Shrovetide ball games have been played in England since the 12th century from the reign of Henry II (1154–89). 

In Atherstone in Warwickshire, players took part in the 823rd Atherstone Ball Game.

The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball.

The ball is decorated with ribbons before the game and prizes are awarded to anyone who gets hold of one.

Over half of Brits will be tucking into some sort of sweet or savoury pancake this evening – with a staggering 229m set to be consumed by the end of the day.

Meanwhile, destination boards in UK stations swapped London St Pancras Station to London St Pancake station to mark the day. 

Network Rail tweeted: ‘It’s #PancakeDay yay! Here’s some flippin’ good history about London St ‘Pancake’ International station.’ 

The day was also marked by an announcement at the station welcoming commuters. 

One commuter tweeted: ‘There’s an announcement at St Pancras today that goes ‘Welcome to London St Pancake! Have a flipping great day!’ and it’s unbelievably cringe.’ 

Earlier today the Princess of Wales made an attempt at flipping pancakes while joking her children may boycott her attempts. 

Kate laughed as she struggled to free the batter mix from a frying pan, but successfully tossed it when she joined residents from Oxford House Nursing Home in Slough to celebrate the annual event.

She said: ‘This is where I go wrong, I obviously try and turn them too quickly.’

Conscious of the large number of residents, staff and press silently watching, the princess quipped: ‘I wish there was, like, music going on.’

Laughing, she added: ‘Maybe the children won’t want to do pancakes… “Mummy we’ve seen you do it – no way”.’

After finally prising the pancake free she held the frying pan with both hands and tossed the batter mix, to applause from the audience, before pointing at her efforts and saying: ‘Definitely don’t eat that one.’