Return of precious nettle contest
THE celebrated nettle eating competition in rural Dorset returns after a three-year absence this weekend.
The World Nettle Eating Competition, which has attracted global attention thanks to its bizarre premise, took place every summer at The Bottle Inn in Marshwood, with the last event held in 2019.
The pub has since closed, but Dorset Nectar Cider has revived the event and will host the World Nettle Eating Competition at its family-run Cider Farm in Waytown, near Bridport, from 3pm tomorrow.
The competition sees contestants trying to eat as many leaves as possible from stalks of nettles in an hour.
After the hour is up, the number of stalks is counted and the person who has eaten the most will be crowned as the nettle king or queen.
Ryan Strong, who took part in the previous mouth-tingling feast, was unwilling to see such a beloved and quirky event “being lost to time” and convinced his family to host.
He said: “I hated the idea of this brilliant, uniquely Dorset festival being lost to time so convinced the rest of the family to host it here at the Dorset Nectar Cider farm.
“We are having the Bridport town crier open the event in all his regalia and wonderful enthusiasm.
“We have two excellent large cups for the men’s and ladies’ eating champions, or nettle king and queen. We are still open to some more enthusiastic nettle eating competitors if anyone wants to get in touch and compete.
“Nettles are cut the night before in two-foot lengths and the leaves are eaten from them for one hour. Those who eat the leaves off the most lengths of nettles wins.”
The event will get under way with live music from Shelbys Elbows and Bug Tree Swamp jazz bands.
There will be authentic Mexican food from Tortilla Cantina and a wide variety of ciders and craft ales on tap, available for spectators who don’t want to eat nettle leaves.
The nettle eating competition dates back to the 1980s when two farmers challenged each other over who grew the longest stinging nettle.
When the winning farmer produced a 15ft-long nettle, the loser had to eat all the leaves from his stalk.
In 2018, Philip Thorne, from Colyton in Devon, achieved the record for the most stinging nettles eaten during the competition by swallowing an astounding 104ft of the plant.