A walking day is a type of church parade. Walking days are most common in the North West region of England, where they are an annual event for many towns and villages. In some rural communities in the North West they are known as Field Days, Gala Days or Club Days.
There may be several churches involved in a local walking day, however, most 'church' walking days are held individually for each church. The churches hire bands to provide music: for instance brass bands, pipe bands and marching bands. The police provide an escort and control the road traffic, but some police forces are now refusing to provide escorts out of public funds, and this may threaten many of these traditional events.
Children play a big part through their churches, schools, the Boys' Brigade, the Scouts and the Girl Guides.
Non-church processions are often led by a young lady, who has been crowned the "Rose Queen" for the year. The Queen may be particular to a church but can represent the whole village too. Indeed, some Rose Queens and May Queens have festivals of their own. For example, there is the "Lymm May Queen", "Knutsford May Queen" and the "Thelwall Rose Queen"
Walking days are particularly common in the Warrington, St Helens and Wigan areas. They are held annually in most districts, including:
- Grappenhall
- Orford
- Padgate
- Penketh
- Stockton Heath
- Stretton
- Warrington
- Winwick
- Rainford
- Ashton-in-Makerfield
- Haydock
- Newton le Willows
Some walking days, including those held in Warrington, Orford, Padgate and Stockton Heath, are followed by a fair.
Warrington Walking Day itself dates back to 1834, and is perhaps the largest in terms of attendance and participation. Churches now walk in ecumenical groups from each area. Most businesses in the town used to close for the day, but as Warrington has expanded, many firms have national and international business that demands attention. A detailed history of Warrington Walking Day can be found in the University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive
Famous quotes containing the words walking and/or day:
“In the far South the sun of autumn is passing
Like Walt Whitman walking along a ruddy shore.
He is singing and chanting the things that are part of him,
The worlds that were and will be, death and day.
Nothing is final, he chants. No man shall see the end.
His beard is of fire and his staff is a leaping flame.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“I like sometimes to take rank hold on life and spend my day more as the animals do. Perhaps I have owed to this employment and to hunting, when quite young, my closest acquaintance with Nature. They early introduce us to and detain us in scenery with which otherwise, at that age, we should have little acquaintance.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)