Beltane at Beltane, the one and only. We will be here before sunrise to make sure it does, indeed, rise. You’re welcome.
Come and join us at the car park immediately below Hay Tor. You won’t miss us.
We’re thrilled to be part of the 8th annual Green Man festival in Bradford-on-Avon this year. Traditional music, dance and folk stuff throughout town, with loads of live music scattered, and of course the making and unveiling of the Green Man. Come and watch us and 600(?!) other dance and music sides and groups.
We love the Cornwood Inn, and who better to dance with at this lush Dartmoor pub than our mates Dartmoor Border Morris?! Good craic all round
We are very excited to be a part of this epic new festival celebrating the power of place! And what a stonking line up it is - they’ve got Guy Shrubsole, Lewis Winks, Lisa Schneidau, Field System and so many more epic thinkers and creatives. Times TBC
Join us on one of our rare ventures west - with none other than the epic Catseye!
We’re off to Wimborne FF! Join us a and a whole other bunch of raggedy Morris types for a weekend of folk, dance and Morrisy mayhem. Times TBC
For more details and an updated schedule of artists and events please see event website.
Keeping it local this week with a spot at Things Happen Here in Dartington alongside new Plymouth-based side Old Town Twelves
Come and check out this amazing pub, serving lots of lovely beers and featuring some piratey types in fishnets arrrggghh. We’ll be dancing here with our mates Dartington Morris - join us for beers and a jolly good sing song
The east calls us again this week and with good reason - a seaside pub AND the legendary Isambard’s Gasket Rats? Race you there…
A top brewery in a top location with a top side! Topsham Brewery is where it’s at this week, join us and our friends Great Western Morris for your shot of morris shenanigans this week!
Join us for a jolly good knees up at the Ferry Boat Inn, last one in the sea buys the first round!
There is always a hearty welcome at the Bay Horse and many a great session has been had here, so join us at Rotherfold Square before we head to the Bay Horse for tankard swilling and general uproarious shenanigans
That’s right folks, you can catch us at the legendary Warwick Folk Festival this year!
Heading back to Sidmouth this year for a cheeky catch up with our mates Boggarts Breakfast and Molly No Mates - watch us as we try to keep it together in the company of these Morris legends! Exact location TBC, but you’ll no doubt hear us as you wander along the promenade
Always a highlight in the Beltane calendar, join us at one of the moor’s best kept secrets!
Off we head to one of our regular haunts, we love the beers and vibes here. This time we’ll be dancing with the awesome Lodestone Border Morris!
While dancing in the blazing sunshine at Beautiful Days last year, we were presented with a laminated invitation to the amazing Saddleworth Rushcart in 2025. How could we possibly say no to that? We’ll be the first border side to have danced at this prestigious event, so we are very excited to dust off our passports for the long trek oop north!
More details to follow…
Lush pub, lush garden, lush cider - plus we’ll be dancing with Newton Bushell? Sounds like the event highlight of the summer
Off we head to The Bridge in Topsham to dance with not one, but TWO amazing sides. Buy two get one free in this epic dance off with Otter and Wild Moon Morris. This will be an after party worth hanging around for!
Always such an incredible night at this beautiful pub - the hospitality is top notch! Join us for our last out of the season as we dance the night away with our friends Shumba Arts
After a ruddy good knees up at the 2024 event, we are over the moon to be going back to Stoke Gabriel for our second wassail of the year! Times TBC
There will be singing, offerings to the Spirit of the Trees, music, food, and a lantern parade. And of course, MORRIS..... that's where we come in! Loudly.
The festivities take place in the surroundings of Church Walk in the heart of the village and the Wassail ceremony will take place in the community orchard.
This was a ticketed event last year - check back for details nearer the time.
Friends of Stoke Gabriel School (FOSS), a charity, organises the event with a BBQ. Local food and drink suppliers will be providing refreshments including Hunts Cider.
A regular in ye olde Beltane diary is an appearance at the Lustleigh Wassail!
Bring toasted bread to stick on branches and your smallest kids to put into trees!
Join us outside The Cleave Inn at 7:45 for our performance and then into the orchard for the blessing of the apple trees.
If that’s not enough wassailing for you, then my friend, you are in luck. We will also be at the Stoke Gabriel Wassail on Saturday 18th January.
Holy heck! Did you see that? We are going to MONTOL!
We will be at the epic Montol Festival in Penzance on Saturday 21st December!
FIND US HERE 👇
🔥Dancing 2 pm - 3.30 pm at the London Inn
🔥6 pm parade participation, start at Greenmarket
🔥Dancing 7.15 pm at Greenmarket
🔥Dancing 8.15 pm at the Global Ale House
🔥9.30 pm parade participation, starting at Greenmarket to the seafront
🔥Last performance approx 10.15 pm
See map below for locations.
SATURDAY 21 DECEMBER 2024 WITH PROCESSIONS, GUISE GUILDS AND MASKS...
Suitable for: Families before dark and adults after dark.
Read here more about what to expect: https://montol.org/
We love a bit of Totters Market at Christmas time! Come and marvel at us slipping and sliding on the wet paving slabs as you sip on glühwein and bag yourself some lovely festive bargains. We’re usually up the top end near The Bull, dancing like maniacs before heading to The Bayhorse for shandies and shanties.
Cor look at us, getting invited to all the posh places. Might have to scrub up a bit for this one
This year we will be heading to Okehampton for Samhain!
Beginning at 10:30 am at The Museum of Dartmoor Life, we’ll dance a few spots before having lunch at 1 pm-ish.
At around 3:30 pm we will cram the Beltane riff-raff into circus vehicles and head to The Tors Inn, Belstone, for a Samhain ceremony and fire dancing.
Check out the programme below and expect all kinds of spooky Morris-y shenanigans to take place!
Bonus points for coming with spooky Dartmoor-inspired costumes and fairy lights!
Don’t miss this glorious Dartmoor fair with everything you could want - food, drink, stalls, local crafts, dog trials, livestock and stuff, and black-clad Dartmoor creatures emerging out of the rocks and lichen to dance and shriek at you and then disappear again. All the good things.
Performance times:
5:30 - 6pm
8:30 - 9pm
Details to follow. Also check out our Facebook page for latest updates.
Photo credit: Peter Bigglestone
Worra wonderful spot this is, let’s hope the weather holds out for a hearty warm up for the long weekend!
Amazing festival in Escot Park. We're dancing all 3 days all over the place by day, and launching ourselves into the festival by night. Not to be missed!
We were honoured to be asked to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the amazing Sidmouth Folk Festival, you’ll find us dancing our boots off all week long.
We love being us. We get to dance to the darkest dirtiest trad music, hang out with amazing morris sides, and we get to do it at The Rugglestone Inn, one of the best pubs on the moor, and definitely the one with the most ducks. I know I'm coming for dinner first so if you want the deep fried cheese wedges you'd better come early.
Hosted by Lyme Morris, this seafront shindig with its panoramic views over the Jurassic Coast has all the makings of an amazing day out!
An unusual Friday evening gig for us - come and revel in the revelry at the annual Lapford Revel with them Myths & Legends. We’ll be performing between the pub Old Malt Scoop Inn and the village hall (road closure applies).
How lucky are we?! We get to play at our absolute favouritest pubs this season, including this gem at the top of town in Totnes. Usually welcoming us in after our exertions on St George’s day, they are kindly giving us corvids a nest for an evening of dance, song and libations. That being said, we may well be dancing in town somewhere first as we need a bit of space to spread our wings, and we are of course massive posers and thrive on adulation. So come and adulate us! Keep an eye on our facebook as we’ll update on there where we’re dancing and there will inevitably be a change of plan at around 7.49pm. Also the Pizza Pirates will be there selling delicious fresh pizza!
See you there!!
Join us and 20 other sides for a jolly good knees up at the amazing Teignmouth Folk Festival - just check out that epic line-up of folk music!
Sat 22nd June
1030 procession starts - Beltane position 1/ head
1130 – 1215 The Triangle
1230 – 1315 Venus Café
1315 - 1415 Lunch
1415 – 1500 Witches Hat
1515 - 1600 left of Pier
1615 – The Triangle – we are the last dance – side number 20
Sunday 23rd June
1100 – 1145 Venus Café
1200 – 1245 Left of Pier
1245 – 1345 Lunch
1345 – 1430 Northumberland Place
1445 – 1530 right of Pier
1545 rendezvous at The Triangle – one last dance each side. We are side number 3.
This pub is positively made for Morris - just look at all that lovely space. We’ll be joined by the epic Cogs and Wheels - so get down there quicksmart to bag your seat!
We love The Beer Engine and we’re stoked to be dancing here with Shumba African Drums! If that sounds like your cup of char, you'd better be at the Beer Engine on this particular Thursday.
The lack of whimsy in the title for this particular evening spectacle is extremely intentional! At least a few of us Beltaners (including yours truly) has turned up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to A Church House Inn in the greater Devon area, only to be flummoxed at the lack of their corvid brethren making a menace of themselves. And especially as the Church House Inn at Stokeinteignhead is such a lovely pub, you really don’t want to not be there! Come and see us dance over a drink and dinner, and we’ll see you in the pub afterwards.
We’re delighted to be invited by the wonderful Two Bridges Hotel to come and dance on their most resplendent of forecourts again this May. An absolutely magical spot in the middle of the best bit of the moor. Come and join us for a drink, a dance (actually please don’t dance - that’s our job... well, not exactly a job, more of a habit, really), and a singsong.
We’ll be joined on this hopefully sunny evening by Dartmoor Border Morris
We love a bit of Grimspound, so of course we’re going to be joining them for a knees up at their 30th birthday! Though if you ask us, they don’t look a day over 21
Beltane do Beltain in style!
Off we trot to Hampshire to welcome in the summer with live folk music, reenactor battles, local craftsfolk, and the burning of a 40ft wickerman.
Beltane at Beltane, the one and only. We will be here before sunrise to make sure it does, indeed, rise. You’re welcome.
Come and join us at the car park immediately below Hay Tor. You won’t miss us.
We’re thrilled to be part of the Green Man festival in Bovey Tracey this year. Traditional music, dance and folk stuff throughout town, and of course the making and unveiling of the Green Man. Come and watch us perform alongside other dance and music sides and groups.
Beltane Border will be dancing the Stoke Gabriel Wassail!
TIMES TBC (possibly 5.15pm and 7pm).
Stoke Gabriel with its apple orchards takes part in an ancient Wassail and mid-winter folk community festival. There will be singing and gun fire, offerings to the Spirit of the Trees and music, food and a lantern parade. And of course MORRIS..... that's where we come in! Loudly.
The festivities take place in the surroundings of Church Walk in the heart of the village and the Wassailceremony will take place in the community orchard.
Tickets: 4 GBP.
Friends of Stoke Gabriel School (FOSS), a charity, organises event with a BBQ. Local food and drink suppliers will be providing refreshments including Hunts Cider.
Saturday January 13th, we will be celebrating and leading the Lustleigh wassail. There will be cider; kids being forced into trees; perfectly good toasted bread stuck on branches; wassailing words; probably a lot of noise; singing and maybe even CAKE!
Join us outside The Cleave Inn at 7:45 for our performance and then into the orchard for the blessing of the apple trees.
If you can't be at this Wassail, then you get another chance to see us perform as we will also be at the Stoke Gabriel Wassail on Sat. 20th January. Times TBC.
TIME TBC - Check back in here closer to the day!
Yes, it will be freezing. Our dancers’ legs will be seizing up in the delightfully predictable damp Devon winter cold. Our musicians’ strings and drum skins will be doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things in the frost and the hail. And yes, you’ll have just paid a reassuring £6 for a plastic cup of pre-mixed mulled “wine”, and have started to question some of your life choices.
….But then we’ll start to dance, and it will all make sense.
This is what the pagan/Christian/commercial hybrid monster that we call Christmas is all about. This is why you sat in Totnes traffic for an hour and then tried to park for another hour. You know I’m right. Just come.
(PS one year a nice man told us after watching us dance here that he had thought that morris dancing was naff until he saw us. If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will).
Beltane has danced the dark Morris at the Dark Gathering many times, and here we are again. The Dark Gathering at Boscastle is a truly one of a kind event. On or close to Samhain or All Hallow’s eve, we dance and sing at the time that the veil between worlds as it its flimsiest.
This event became so popular over the years that crowd control has had to be introduced. If you wish to attend, please find the Dark Gathering website or facebook page for information, as it is likely that tickets will need to be purchased in advance - not from us - from the event organisers.
It’s a special occasion, and after a day of dance and song, there’s usually a great session in the pub afterwards; if they’ll have us, that is!
Please note - this year it takes place in Tintagel, NOT in Boscastle.
https://propercornwall.co.uk/events/the-dark-gathering-2023-all-hallows-in-tintagel/
https://thedarkgathering.co.uk/
For some inexplicable reason we hadn’t danced at Widecombe Fair until last year. And now we have, there’s no turning back. We love it, come rain or shine, and this year we will be back in force. Don’t miss this glorious Dartmoor fair with everything you could want - food, drink, stalls, local crafts, dog trials, livestock and stuff, and black-clad Dartmoor creatures emerging out of the rocks and lichen to dance and shriek at you and then disappear again. All the good things.
Times TBC!!
Your Beltane Blogger is uninspired at this moment in time to find a wry play-on-words to title this event. And why should they? Such an event should speak for itself. There’s a shanty festival going on in Teignmouth and we are privileged to accompany the occasion with some ferocious yet moving dance performances. And then we will probably all sing, thereby nicely complementing the overall shanty theme. Teignmouth, shanties, Beltane, what’s not to love. See you there.
PS we have currently no idea when or where we are playing, but will update closer to the time on Facebook x
PPS We’ve updated this now so that we are ONLY dancing on Saturday 9th.
>> NOT DANCING on Sunday 10th!!!
