There are two public holidays (bank holidays) this month on Monday 6 May and Monday 27 May 2019. Mostly, people will just enjoy that free time with their family and friends and there will be some traditional entertainment, such as maypole dancing on May Day. People used to cut down young trees and dance around them in the centre of villages to mark the arrival of summer. It doesn’t happen everywhere but you will find some poles with long ribbons being woven by dancers and some morris dancing too.
Obby Oss Day
May Day (or Obby Oss Day as it is known) is the biggest event in Padstow’s calendar. It is not unusual to see 30,000 people crammed into this little Cornwall town on the first of May when Padstonians from all over the world return to their roots to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Those born in the town traditionally dress in white with family loyalties dictating whether they follow the ‘Red’/original Oss, or the ‘Blue’/peace Oss. Both Oss’ are similar in appearance and perform a dancing ritual accompanied by a hypnotic folk song (unique to Padstow) around the town. Each Oss is lead by a group of followers as they make their way through the narrow streets and around the harbour. Celebrations go on all day until the Oss’ finally go to bed after 10pm.
Advice from the locals is to get to Padstow as early as possible and use the park & ride from the edge of town. Once in town remember that it is the locals day and don’t get in the way of the Oss or the dancers and musicians.
Highland Games
Scotland’s Highland Games run for five months each year. They combine sport, fun and culture in a uniquely Scottish style. Visitors can get in on the action at one of over 80 Highland Games taking place on islands and in towns, villages and cities across the country – some castle grounds host games too.
The Highland games events season begins on the 12 May 2019 with the Gourock Highland Games. It peaks in July and August with over 30 events each month, and comes to a close on 21 September 2019 with the Invercharron Highland Games. Most Highland games events take place at the weekend, on either a Saturday or a Sunday.
Dorset Knob Throwing Festival
Stop your sniggering as a Dorset knob is a biscuit. Originally, they were made from leftover bread dough with added butter and sugar, hand-rolled and left to dry in the dying heat of the oven. It is thought their name comes from the hand-sewn Dorset knob buttons that were also made locally.
Anyway, last year the annual Dorset Knob Throwing Festival was cancelled but it’s back this year on 5 May 2019 at Kingston Maurward College, near Dorchester.
In the 2017 knob-throwing competition, Pete Asher threw his knob the furthest in the rainy conditions with an effort of 22.70m (74.4ft).
As well as Knob Throwing there will be additional fun knob attractions including Knob Eating, Knob Painting, a Knob & Spoon Race, Guess the weight of the Big Knob, Knob Darts and a Knob Pyramid and other more traditional entertainment.
The Frome Valley Food Fest will run alongside the Knob Throwing with the opportunity to sample, taste and purchase a fine range of foods including breads, cheeses, ciders, meats, pies, preserves, and puddings in addition to chocolate, coffee and wine supplied by well-respected local businesses.
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales. On from 23 May to 2 June 2019, this world-famous festival features hundreds of leading writers, thinkers and performers. The event, which launched in 1987, takes place in a tented village erected on farmland on the edge of the town.
Novelist Ian McEwan is set to talk about his forthcoming book Machines Like Me, and Jeanette Winterson returns to Hay in the same month as her new novel Frankissstein: A Love Story reaches bookshops.
Maxine Peake, Joanna Lumley and Moby are among the stars who will appear, as well as Stephen Fry, who is also the festival’s president, who will discuss his books Mythos and Heroes. Comedians attending include Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey.
Blenheim Palace
Head to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire for a Jousting Tournament on from 4 to 6 May 2019. The Bank Holiday weekend is packed with action and entertainment. You’ll see knights on horseback charging in traditional tilt while battling on foot with the mighty mace and quarterstaff.
There’s more than just the jousting to see as there are birds of prey, archery, jesters and even a dragon parade at this family-friendly event.
Birmingham Pride
The biggest two-day LGBT party in the UK returns on the second Bank Holiday Weekend in May (25-26 May 2019). Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long LGBT festival held annually in the Gay Village on Hurst Street. It features a Carnival Parade through the city centre plus the Main Pride Festival Site with the Nightingale Main Stage, dance arena, cabaret marquee, funfair, community village green and the friendliest street party.
The Royal Bath & West Show
The Royal Bath & West Show at Shepton Mallet, Somerset, is England’s biggest celebration of rural life and England’s only four-day royal show. It’s on from 29 May to 1 June 2019 and includes the British Cheese Awards 2019 on Wednesday 29 May 2019. For lovers of cheese and fine food it makes for a ‘must visit’ show as there will be over 1,000 British cheeses on show.
Agriculture is at the heart of the Show with over 4,500 livestock, sheep shearing, machinery from the past 100 years and the very latest farming technology. Entertainment in the main ring ranges from top class show-jumping to the grand parade of prize-winning animals.
LightNight Liverpool
Celebrating its 10th anniversary LightNight Liverpool returns on Friday 17 May 2019. Visitors of all ages are welcome at this free arts festival in celebration of the city’s year-round world-class cultural offer. The theme for 2019 is ‘Ritual’.
50 of the city’s best arts, heritage and community venues will throw open their doors until late at night, staging over 100 free special events. There’s a self-led trail of exhibitions, music, dance and theatre performances, film installations, hands-on workshops and parties.
Places and spaces will come to life with arts happenings for this city-wide collaboration, with free activities spanning the iconic and UNESCO World Heritage sites of Pier Head, Albert Dock, Ropewalks, St George’s Quarter and the Commercial Quarter through to the Baltic Triangle and Hope Street.
For more after-hours fun this month, Museums at Night is back from 15 to 18 May 2019. Museums, galleries, historic houses and more open across the UK for late night events.
Norfolk and Norwich Festival
The Norfolk and Norwich Festival is back from 10 to 26 May 2019 with 14 premieres, over 100 events including 20 free events in a programme of music, performance, visual art and literature. The Festival will open with a daring high-wire walk spanning the breadth of Norwich city centre accompanied by a live soundscape.
The wide-ranging programme showcases artists from around the world and the region presenting a huge variety of work and events throughout the city and around the county. It explores physical and cultural identities to make unique contemporary art.
Cleveland Way
If you can’t decide whether you prefer dramatic coastline or heather moorland then the 109-mile long Cleveland Way is your perfect trail. With fabulous views, castles, ancient stone crosses and fishing villages tucked into tiny coves it has the lot.
2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Cleveland Way National Trail. To celebrate, the North York Moors National Park is hosting a series of events, walks, talks, competitions and exhibitions, including a Cleveland Way dedicated Walking Festival this month.
The Cleveland Way was the second National Trail to open and launched on 24 May 1969. It runs in a horseshoe loop across much of the North York Moors National Park between Helmsley and Filey. The coastal Cleveland Way follows part of the England Coast Path, which will be 2,795 miles (4,500km) long when it is completed in 2020.
Lincoln Grand Prix
Join over 1000 riders on 11 and 12 May 2019 at the Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive. It’s a festival of cycling events, including a Sportive and the Men’s and Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix.
The Lincoln Grand Prix celebrates its 64th year as elite women and men race across historic Lincoln. The steep hills of Lincoln’s cobbled Cathedral Quarter offer a popular, exciting and tough route for the riders and spectators.
East Lancashire Railway
The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) is a lovingly restored rail experience offering visitors the chance to ride classic steam and diesel fuelled locomotives. This is a chance to discover some of the region’s best-loved highlights, whilst hopping on and off one of the attractions itself. The heritage railway operates over two contrasting sections of line. Both were originally built in the 19th century to serve separate routes, each of which passed through the important mill town of Bury.
Take a steam train trip back in time to Britain’s finest hour this month as 25, 26, 27 May 2019 is the East Lancashire Railway 1940s weekend. This all-singing, all-dancing vintage event has vehicle displays, battle re-enactments and entertainment across the whole route.
The Spitfire experience offers you the opportunity to experience the site, smell and sound of the iconic RAF Spitfire. You will be able to sit in the cockpit and start the Rolls Royce 27 Litre engine. Or why not join the photography course to help you capture your memories? The course is a tour of the line and even visits behind the scenes of the ELR.
Cheese Rolling
The annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll in Gloucestershire takes place on the second bank holiday in May every year. This year’s event will be on 27 May 2019. It involves chasing a 9lb Double Gloucester cheese down the near vertical slopes of the hill. The first runner to the bottom wins and the cheese is the prize. The aim is to catch the cheese but given it travels at speeds of up to 70mph it is near on impossible. Cheeses are supplied by the Smart family of Birdwood and are made especially for the event. It is wrapped in wood for the race and decorated with a red and a blue ribbon.
Don’t go thinking this is a genteel event as the slope is so steep it is almost concave in places and there are always broken bones and hospital trips for contestants. Volunteers from Brockworth Rugby Club wait at the bottom of the hill to catch runners but while they can slow down the participants they can’t stop the injuries.
The tradition of cheese rolling dates back centuries. Some say it was all about claiming grazing rights on the common and land around Cooper’s Hill, others reckon it could have been a fertility ritual set up to encourage the fruits of the harvest. Nowadays Cheese Rolling is officially an extreme sport, with competitors heading to Gloucester from across the globe. If you are brave enough to tackle the hill all you need to do is turn up on the day and head to the top. There are several races for men and women as well as a children’s race which goes up-hill.
Little Venice Canal Cavalcade
London’s largest waterside festival is the IWA Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice. Taking place over the early May Bank Holiday weekend, 4-6 May 2019, you can expect activities for all the family, including colourful boats and live music.
Over 120 boats attend the festival including historic, residential and working narrowboats, cruisers and Dutch barges. Seeing them moored in the Pool, towards Paddington Basin and along Delamere Terrace makes a marvellous spectacle.
Younger visitors can try kayaking, visit a Teddy Bear’s Picnic or watch a traditional Punch & Judy show in Rembrandt Gardens. Throughout the festival there’s music, plenty of street food stalls and a real ale bar plus a variety of craft and canal-ware outlets.
Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas in 2007 in a closet in Chicago. Anglotopia is for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Join us as we explore Britain and everything it has to offer!
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