Pub pride will be at stake tomorrow when Knaresborough’s annual tug of war match over the River Nidd takes place.

The festive fun and frivolity sees teams from the neighbouring Half Moon and Mother Shipton Inn take the strain on either side of the river and try to pull each other towards the water’s edge.

Nobody actually enters the Nidd these days but the sight of locals holding a specially made long rope and trying to avoid sliding down a muddy bank is something to behold, and attracts a huge crowd of up to 1,000 people.

Half Moon landlord Tom Clarkson, who is organising the event, said the Knaresborough town crier would be introducing the event and Knaresborough Lions would marshal the crowds that gather in the narrow area.

The event will also raise money for Frank’s Fund, a charity set up by the Ashton family in 2019 following the death of their 14-year-old son, Frank, to Ewing sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

Last year’s tug of war — the first after covid — was won by default by the Half Moon, which entered teams on both sides of the river, but Mr Clarkson said he hoped the two pubs would both provide men’s and women’s teams this year.

Drinks will be available from 11am and there will be an outside bar run by local brewery Roosters.

The action gets underway beneath Low Bridge at high noon and will feature best of three pulls between separate men’s and women’s teams.

Mr Clarkson said:

“It’s a cracking day that we hope will raise a lot of money for Frank’s Fund.”

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The annual Boxing Day pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey will be held on Tuesday (December 26),

As in previous years, pilgrims who take part in the four-mile walk, starting from outside the Cathedral at 10.15am, will not have to pay to enter the World Heritage site.

An item about the pilgrimage in the events section of Ripon Cathedral’s website says:

“Please Note: Fountains Abbey is owned and managed by the National Trust and you may need to provide either proof of membership or pay an entrance fee to enter the abbey.”

However, on its website the National Trust, has confirmed that it is a free event for pilgrims and no prior booking is required.

For non-National Trust members, the standard admittance price for adults is £18 and £9 for children.

Prior to the start of the pilgrimage, pilgrims will be welcome to attend a Eucharist service in the cathedral at 9.30am

The walkers will follow in the footsteps of 13 monks who on a cold day in 1132, walked from Ripon to a completely deserted valley by the River Skell.

There they started their own community from nothing and Fountains Abbey was born.

The traditional event, which will conclude with a carol service in the awe-inspiring vaulted cellarium of the ruined abbey, has become a firm favourite in the cathedral’s Christmas calendar. In previous years it has attracted hundreds of pilgrims.

Harrogate Town are set to clash with Grimsby Town today in their first fixture in three weeks.

The Boxing Day match comes as Town have had two EFL League Two games postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Harrogate will welcome the Mariners to the EnviroVent Stadium in the hope of building on their 4-1 away win at Rochdale on December 3.

The fixture will be the first of three over the Christmas period.

Ahead of today’s game, Town will be without Will Smith, Dior Angus, Stephen Dooley, Matty Daly and Lewis Richards who are out injured.

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However, Joe Mattock is set to be available after missing the victory at Rochdale.

Town will be hoping for a repeat of last season when they took six points from the Mariners in the league.

Manager Simon Weaver said it was important that the players kept their focus over the next three games.

He said:

“We have got to make sure we have got that focus and don’t it slip.

“Three back to back wins would be huge for us in our season. It would make the table look completely different from where we were three games ago.

“It’s a tough prospect is this game. I have been watching a lot of the coverage of Grimsby. They had a great FA Cup victory against Plymouth, they went to Wimbledon and were probably the better team on the day and they beat Tranmere last time out.

“We know Paul Hurst, he was the last manager I played under. I know the quality he looks for in players and he is a very good manager.”

Up to 1,000 people are expected to congregate on the banks of the River Nidd in Knaresborough today for one of the country’s more curious Boxing Day traditions.

Teams representing the Half Moon free house and the nearby Mother Shipton Inn will take the strain in a tug of war tussle with a difference.

The teams will face-off on either side of the Nidd and attempt to pull each other towards the water’s edge.

Teams no longer get yanked into the river, but the sight of men and women heaving a huge rope over a major waterway is quite a sight — and one that has been missed lately due to covid.

Tom Clarkson, organiser and landlord of the Half Moon, summed up the fun:

“It lasts about an hour-and-a-half and it’s absolute mental, wonderful carnage.”

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Men’s and women’s teams of eight will take part in best-of-three jousts to claim bragging rights for a year.

Mother Shipton Inn came out on top last time.

Crowds are expected to start gathering around the low bridge from about 11.15am before the action gets underway at noon.

Competitors and fans will then put aside their differences to retire to the two pubs. A collection will take place on the day for the bone cancer charity Frank’s Fund.

Persistent morning rain did not deter a hardy group of pilgrims from maintaining a Boxing Day tradition in Ripon.

More than 100 people made the four-mile journey from the city’s ancient cathedral to Fountains Abbey.

Walking at a gentle pace, wearing waterproofs, raincoats and with some carrying umbrellas, they retraced the steps of the 13 Benedictine monks, who set off from the cathedral on Boxing Day 1132 to become the original founders of the abbey.

Pilgrims walking along Kirkgate at the start of their journey to Fountains Abbey

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The annual pilgrimage, which began in 1976, was cancelled last year because of covid, but with smaller numbers than usual taking part this year, the event was safely staged, as walkers covered the route in small groups.

The pilgrims, carrying a cross, were led on the walk to the abbey by the Dean of Ripon, The Very Revd. John Dobson (pictured below, second from left) with five fellow walkers.

At the abbey, the cellarium, with its vaulted roof (pictured below) provided shelter from the elements for a carol service led by the Dean and cathedral clergy.

The service provided a heart-warming finale, full of festive cheer for the pilgrims.

The Met Office has issued a Boxing Day weather warning for snow and strong winds in the Harrogate district.

The warning comes into effect just after midnight and is in place until midday tomorrow.

A band of snow is expected to move in from the north-west in the early hours, turning to rain later on in the morning.

The warning says:

“Snow and strong winds are expected, leading to possible disruption, mainly to travel over higher ground.

“Some roads and railways likely to be affected by snow or ice, leading to longer journey times by car, as well as by bus and possibly train services.

“Some short term loss of power and other services is possible.”

Yellow warnings are less severe than amber and red warnings so it is unlikely there will be widespread disruption but it is possible some parts the district, especially higher areas around Pateley Bridge, may experience early morning travel problems.

The cold weather is unlikely to last. Temperatures are expected to be as high as 13 degrees centigrade by Wednesday and stay extremely mild into the new year.

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It was cancelled last year because of covid, but tomorrow’s Boxing Day pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey is scheduled to go ahead.

The event, which regularly attracts upwards of 1,000 people, will follow the 9.30am Eucharist service for St Stephen’s Day.

At 10am, pilgrims will set off from the cathedral on the four-mile journey to Fountains Abbey.

Walking at a leisurely pace, they will retrace the steps of the 13 Benedictine monks who were the original founders of the abbey in 1132.

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At the abbey, a carol service will be led by the Dean of Ripon The Very Revd. John Dobson and cathedral clergy.

The pilgrimage between the two iconic heritage and religious sites has been held since 1976.

Sunday’s event will be the second pilgrimage of the year from the cathedral to the abbey.

In September, Ripon Together’s Yorkshire Pilgrimage was held as part of its Healthy Journeying campaign, which encourages people to walk in the Yorkshire countryside for physical and mental wellbeing.