In Pictures: Pancake races and unusual ball games mark Shrove Tuesday
The Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire dates back to 1199, while the Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Derbyshire has some unusual rules.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A choristers’ pancake race and ball games with a twist were among the events held across the UK to mark Shrove Tuesday.
The Atherstone Ball Game, in Warwickshire, honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball.
In Winchester, choristers in their robes were among those contesting the traditional pancake race.
In Derbyshire, the Royal Shrovetide Football Match was held in Ashbourne.
The rough-and-tumble match sees two teams battling to get the ball to goals three miles apart in a relatively lawless rugby/football hybrid that dates back centuries.