Pixie Day
Every year on the nearest Saturday to the longest day, Pixie day occurs in
Ottery. It is a unique tradition to the town and celebrates a magic location
known as Pixie's Parlour. It is situated on the east bank of the peaceful
River Otter, and provides as many hours of fun to the young people today as
it used to when Samuel Taylor Coleridge used to play here in 1780's. Local
folklore says that before the church was erected, pixies used to rule over
the town. They were supposed to have cast spells on the town's monks, in order
to prevent them from carrying back from Exeter new church bells. The spell
was so powerful that it lead them towards the coast and the nearby steep cliffs.
The monks were only saved from certain death by one thistle, which tore into
one monk's foot causing him to cry out "God bless my soul and Saint Mary".
Each year, the residents of the town celebrate their folklore, by re-enacting
the capturing of the bellringer monks and the final banishment of the pixie's
to the outskirts of the town, to Pixie's Parlour.
Carnival
Ottery St Mary's Carnival is one of the most traditional in the region.
It has a genuine local flavour and is supported well by people from throughout
the region.
Tar Barrels [go
to tar barrels page]
www.tarbarrels.co.uk