Thousands of people packed in to the village of Wybunbury near Nantwich to enjoy the annual Fig Pie Wakes, writes Jonathan White.
The event, organised by the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust, dates back at least 200 years though stopped in 1920.
It was reprised in 1995 when the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust revived it to raise money for the upkeep of their historic leaning tower in the village.
Proceeds from several of the stalls go to village charities and groups.
The fig pies are made from a traditional recipe containing a hard pastry and were rolled from The Swan Inn down Main Road to see how far they will travel.
Mark Walker, chair of Wybunbury Preservation Trust, compered yesterday’s event and announced the winners of the fig pie races and grand prize raffle.
The honour of rolling the first fig pie this year was bestowed on ‘Mario’, the popular mascot of video game company Nintendo.
The 4th annual inter-schools pie rolling race then took place between Wybunbury Delves CE Primary School and other local schools for the ‘Wybunbury Fig Pie Wakes Lewis Crossley Memorial Shield’.
Max Davis, from Wybunbury Delves CE Primary School, rolled the pie the furthest to win the Shield for his school.
Lewis Crossley, also a pupil at Wybunbury Delves, died aged seven after battling for two years against T-Cell Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
A charity Team Lewis Trust was founded in his memory and are fundraising to support research into the type of leukaemia he fought against.
During the inter-schools competition there was a flyover by a privately-owned iconic Spitfire aircraft.
The following Under 10s race was won by Eleanor Durrant and the Under 16’s race was won by Blake Chatman.
The Adult race was won by Rod Morgan-Smith, with an impressive roll of 114 metres, who received a trophy and a bottle of wine.
Wybunbury Tower was open to the public – new bell ringers are welcome every Thursday at 8pm.
There was also a grand raffle, various stalls, refreshments and children’s fairground ride.
The Baker Street Belles sang and a children’s balloon entertainer performed by the Tower.
The Swan Inn hosted displays of steam traction engines, vintage cars, and classic European and American cars.
Vehicle of the day was an immaculate 1971 Cadillac Coupe Deville (V8, 7.7 litre engine) owned by Ken Smith from Crewe.
It was announced at the event that this year was the final year for Mark & Heather Walker, as they both receive a well-earned retirement as chair and member respectively of the Wybunbury Preservation Trust.
They have served on the Trust for 30 years and 20 years respectively.
They were both praised by all for their commitment and passion for the Trust over several decades.
The main sponsors of Wybunbury Fig Pie Wakes 2024 were Cheshire Lamont, Martin Davies Osteopaths, and Splash of Paint.
(Images by Jonathan White)
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