UPDATE: |”It’s the highlight of my year”: The Good Friday tradition that keeps Ramsbottom residents coming back News

Families across the town are carrying the tradition on with their children

Up on Holcombe Hill in Ramsbottom, there’s one tradition that keeps families coming back year after year. The Good Friday tradition of egg rolling is a highlight for locals and visitors.

The tradition, which involves painting hard boiled eggs and rolling them down the hill, was held on Good Friday near the Peel Monument, marking the beginning of the Easter weekend.

As smiley families joined together, one local resident was quick to share his dedication for the rare art of ‘egg pacing’.

“It’s the highlight of my year,” said 28-year-old Alex Bailey. “As a family who work in emergency services, it’s important to make time for this, I even booked annual leave off!”

Alex, who works for North West Ambulance Service, has been coming to the hill for all of his 28 years, and now he’s passing the tradition on to his 18-month-old son Rowan.

He said: “Tradition brings me back, it’s something that I’ve done as a kid with my granddad who is no longer with us, he got me into it so now I’m passing it down.”

Further down the hill was another family who had heard about the hype and decided to give egg rolling a go.

60-year-old Pamela, a newcomer to the town, had brought her family along for the “lovely” festivities.

She said: “We’re here to have a nice day, we came here because the grandchildren wanted to paint eggs and roll them down the hill.

“We’re all very happy and have been looking forward to it, it’s great for families and it’s nice to celebrate spring and new life.”

Pamela and her family aren’t the only first-time rollers, with seven-year-old Henry eager to start his own tradition.

Henry, whose father wasn’t raised in the area and described the tradition as “interesting”, was excited to join in.

The youngster’s mum, 35-year-old Caroline said: “We used to do it when we were kids, it’s a family tradition that we’ve done for years so we thought we would bring the kids.

“It’s nice that there’s a tradition for the kids to pass on and it’s nice to get outside for Easter.

“The kids have spent time this morning painting and colouring, it’s nice for them to do something creative.”

The event is expected to carry on throughout the day, with Peel Tower being open to the public until 4pm for a small fee.