Scuttlebrook Wake

Scuttlebrook Wake is Chipping Campden's street fair, held on the Saturday after Robert Dover's Olimpick Games, at the end of May or the start of June. In 2026 it was on Saturday 30 May. The next is expected on Saturday 5 June 2027, the day after the 2027 Olimpicks, but when we checked neither the Wake's organisers nor the Games had confirmed it, so check before you travel. The day is run by volunteers and paid for with donations.

What happens at Scuttlebrook Wake

The Scuttlebrook May Queen rides on a cart from Littleworth to the Square, pulled by the Campden Morris dancers, with four attendants and a page boy. Decorated floats and a fancy dress parade follow her, and the houses and shops along the way dress their windows for a competition. The Queen is crowned in the Square, beside the Market Hall, and gives the prizes for the best fancy dress.

Then come maypole, country and Morris dancing in the Square, while the Leysbourne end of the High Street fills with fair rides and stalls for the rest of the day.

Where the wake comes from

Wakes began as vigils for the dedication of a parish church and grew into fairs. Campden's charter was first granted at the end of the 12th century and confirmed by Henry III in 1247, and Ranulph de Blundeville granted the burgesses a fair on St James's Day and the two days after. The fair in the market place has been called Scuttlebrook Wake since 1887, after a brook that ran through Leysbourne until it was covered over in 1831, and it took its modern form in 1938.

Visiting and where to stay

The organisers list no admission charge and ask for donations. Many visitors come for both days, the Olimpicks on Dover's Hill on the Friday evening and the Wake on the Saturday. Stay in the town at the Noel Arms, the Lygon Arms or the Eight Bells, and see Chipping Campden for the rest of the town; for other old customs, read about well dressing at Bisley and cheese rolling at Cooper's Hill.