LOCAL MAY DAY TRADITIONS

In Whitstable, Kent, at the Jack in the Green festival, Morris dancers process through the town.

In Padstow, Cornwall, the Obby- Oss (hobby horse) parades through the town accompanied by singing accordion players and followers.

The permanent maypole in Gawthorpe, West Yorks dates back to 1850 and is well known for its revelry, including a May Day parade through the village and some impressive maypole dancing.

A boat decorated with spring flowers is paraded through the streets of Kingsand, Cawsand and Millbrook in Cornwall before being cast adrift.

In Rochester, Kent, chimney sweeps used to mark their holiday by parading through the town, a tradition now echoed by the Sweeps Festival.