Welford-upon-Avon Maypole – Welford-on-Avon, England - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

Welford-upon-Avon Maypole

Welford-on-Avon, England

One of the tallest maypoles remaining in England in one of its smaller villages. 

View all photos
The maypole shirokazan on Flickr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Left: The maypole shirokazan on Flickr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Right: rbenn250 (Atlas Obscura User)
43
106
Top Places in England
Oxford Museum of Natural History
Oxford, England
Hoxton Street Monster Supplies
London, England
The Hat Works
Stockport, England
 See All

For centuries the “maypole” has been a popular European celebratory tradition, and although most of the historic party poles no longer exist, the small village of Welford-upon-Avon retains one of the tallest surviving poles in England. 

Rising to over 20 metres from the centre of the village, the striped maypole has been present in the site since the days of Shakespeare. In its original incarnation it was made of wood, but was at one point struck by lightning and destroyed. The current pole is made of aluminum and is officially a Grade II historical monument listed by English Heritage. The spire is topped with a weathervane shaped like a running fox, another traditional English icon. Visitors are recommended to visit the site in the month of May when the traditional May Day dance is still observed.

natural wonders monuments nature
Nearby
Garden of Heroes and Villains
1.74 miles
Wilmcote Lock Flight
3.48 miles
Edstone Aqueduct
5.69 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Leonardo da Vinci & Vitruvian Man, Anita Lafford, bronze, 2010.
Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Garden of Heroes and Villains

One of the largest sculpture collections in the U.K. features history's greats, from Bob Dylan to Galileo, in bronze.
Wilmcote Lock Flight
The Ridgeway, England

Wilmcote Lock Flight

A unique flight of canal locks that owe their form to 19th-century cost-saving measures.
Boat on the aqueduct
Warwickshire, England

Edstone Aqueduct

The longest canal aqueduct in England was built without a plan to get water past the moving boats.
Chipping Campden, England

Ernest Wilson Memorial Garden

A small and tranquil hidden garden in commemoration of one of the great Victorian plant collectors.
Related Places
The metal pillars aligned to form the Old Man's face
Franconia, New Hampshire

Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza

A serene plaza that commemorates one of the Granite State's most iconic figures.
Brooklyn, New York

Fort Defiance

The humble fort that saved Washington.
Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Manchac Swamp Bridge

One of the longest water bridges in the world was built over a supposedly haunted swamp in Louisiana.
Cosmonaut Grove.
Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Cosmonaut Grove

Avenue of trees planted by cosmonauts before their space departures.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web