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 Sunday the 8th of September is to be the date for two of Geddington’s more unusual traditions - each with their own unique history.  They take place at Geddington Cricket Club and everyone is welcome!

Starting at midday, the GVFB Trundle is an endurance event like no other!  Watch as competitors drag a barrel of beer around a course of approx. 1 mile - with various physical and mental obstacles along the way.  This is the event’s 20th year, and everyone is welcome to come and cheer on the teams.

Food and drink will be available to purchase during the afternoon and music provided after the Trundle results have been announced.

The event is then immediately followed by the Geddington Battle of the Brook - the ancient Tug 'O War between the North and the South at around 4pm.

History of the Trundle

Origins of the Trundle are bound up in the history of harvest time in rural England… and beer.  In the tales of York Augustus Hopkins it is said that beer would be brought into the fields to hydrate and enliven tired minds and bodies, weary from labour.  It is not unreasonable to speculate that the Trundle has taken place since harvests began. The first recorded Trundle did indeed take in a route that
took teams up the Chase to the Barrel Oak and back; other years featured courses that went around ploughed fields. 

The most familiar event is one that involves teams of four transporting a beer barrel around a village course, taking in the Eleanor Cross, the Bridge, the Ford, and the Berm.  As the years have gone by new elements have been added, testing the physical and mental abilities of the competitors. The Battle of the Brook Legend goes that this tradition, started in 1957, arose from a challenge that those who lived on the South side of the river were “of more noble countenance” than those living on the North side.  When those of the North disagreed, the obvious response was to invite the South to a tournament of strength - a Tug-O-War - and the Battle of the Brook was born.

Originally held over the River Ise, with the losing team pulled through the river, the event went on for a number of years - and each year the crowds that watched grew larger and larger.  It is said that the event was finally ended when a police-man’s ear was bitten off during a post-match scuffle! The John Doran Cup is presented to the captain of the winning side and all participants receive a medal and certificate.