There are a few villages in Devon which have some absolutely remarkable traditions, and seeing these occur can be a great thing to do on a family holiday. Two villages in Devon, Ottery St Mary and Hatherleigh, have traditions that involve handling flaming barrels of tar.
Many people, perhaps rightly, believe that rolling or passing burning tar barrels through villages where a number of the houses have thatched roofs is a little bit foolish, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a spectacular sight. Visitors from all over the world attend these celebrations, eager to see the dangerous activity take place. It’s very similar to the bull running that famously occurs at Pamplona, and, just as with the bull running, sometimes people are injured.
On the topic of injuries, it’s the people actually involved in the event, rather than the spectators, who tend to fall victim to the barrels, but these are normally only minor burns or singed hair, nothing that won’t be gone in a few weeks.
The concerns about injury have meant that concerns have been raised for the future of rolling flaming tar barrels through villages, and that would mean that the residents would lose out on a valuable draw for tourists, as well as a popular and traditional cultural event.
Luckily, it seems that these Devon villages and the holiday parks near them will continue to have this incredible celebration to draw in the holiday makers as local councils have, rather than shutting the events down because of concerns, looked at new ways of insuring the events instead.