Straw Bear Festival returns for its 46th year

An eccentric English festival where a man dressed as a straw animal is paraded through a market town has returned for its 46th year.

The Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival, in rural Cambridgeshire, is a tradition that dates back to the mid-1800s, but has attracted thousands of people since its revival in the 1980s.

The main event - a procession led by the bear - will go through Whittlesey, near Peterborough, on Saturday, accompanied by musicians, plough boys and dancers.

Gary Cook, festival director, said: "It is quirkily British, and I think it is the time of year people are looking for something to do after the festive period that fills a gap."

People are expected to take part and watch the festival over three days, from Friday 16 January until the following Sunday.

Cook said there were "traces going back to 1850" of when the event first took place.

"It is to do with Plough Monday as the plough boys would go back to work - and if the land was waterlogged, they couldn't work," he said.

"They would go round town asking for the odd penny, and someone would dress in straw so they wouldn't know who it was."

The annual custom fell into decline at the end of the 19th Century and was forbidden by the local police force in 1909, because it was seen as a form of begging.

However, the revived tradition now involves groups of morris and molly dancers and other folk groups from across England.

The festival starts on Friday, where there will be live music to introduce the event.

On Saturday, the procession will go through the town, starting at the Manor Leisure Centre at about 10:30 GMT, then up Station Road and along Market Street.

There are also three scheduled storytelling talks at Methodist/United Reformed Church at 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00.

A finale is then expected on the Market Place at 15:00, preceded by dance team performances.

"It is strange as it is not particularly well known in the area, but we have people coming from Yorkshire and Lancashire," Cook said.

The festival ends on Sunday, where the model of the bear will be burned at Decoy Lakes.

Cook said between 3,000 and 5,000 people may visit the event across the weekend, if the weather is good.

The festival has advised visitors to park at the Sir Harry Smith Community College between 8:30 and 16:30 on the Saturday.

People have also been advised to check if the B1040 from Thorney to Whittlesey, and North Bank Road from Peterborough to Whittlesey, are open due to their flood risk.

Cambridgeshire County Council said a "large number of roads will be closed in the centre" of Whittlesey, between 08:00 and 16:00.

It said a signed diversion route would be in place around the outside of the town.

The festival has also provided people with times to catch trains and buses to and from Whittlesey on its website.

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