Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels: What you need to know

The event is thought to go back hundreds of years

Crowds of between 15,000 and 20,000 are expected at a spectacular event where people carry flaming tar barrels above their heads through a Devon town.

The Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels is on Wednesday, the latest edition of the annual tradition which is believed to be hundreds of years old.

Organisers have announced road closures and a number of safety measures.

They said their aim was to "keep the disruption to a minimum whilst ensuring the safety of pedestrians" and to make sure everyone has a "great time".

Safety advice

Event stewards and barrel marshals wearing high visibility vests and jackets will be monitoring and helping with crowd control.

Parents are asked to not bring pushchairs to the event and are strongly advised not to bring children after 19:00 BST when the adult runs take place.

Organisers urged people not to run away from any barrels as they are carried down the street as this could cause crowd surges, with the potential to injur participants.

As barrels approach, people are asked to take a step back and lean away from them.

Spectators are also asked to not touch the lit barrels as they pass.

Road closures

The first road closures come into force at 15:30 on Wednesday.

All closures coming into Ottery will be manned and there will be limited access for residents to the following roads:

• Toadpit Lane and Foxenhole via Bendarroch Road only, the Barrack Road end of Toadpit lane will be closed

• King's Reach from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross

• Thorne Farm Way from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross along by King's Reach and right onto Barrack Rd and then into Thorne Farm Way

• Salston Barton from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross

Organisers said: "We urge anyone traveling between Salston Cross and Thorne Farm Way to exercise extreme caution due to the extra pedestrians."

Residents of King's Reach, Thorne Farm Way and Salston Barton who will arrive after 17:00 should ensure they have proof of address to show to the traffic management company.

If people are unable to access their homes for parking, they can claim back the £10 charge if they use a car park and keep a receipt.

Barrels are carried through the streets

The closures will also affect the following streets and cul-de-sacs from 15:30:

• Jesu Street at the Tip Hill Junction

• Yonder Street (Bridgefield) at the Slade Road and Furzebrook junction

• Brook Street at the Silver Street junction

• Sandhill Street at the Cornhill Gold Street junction, all the way through New Street on to the Furzebrook junction

The closure also affects New Lane below the Sunnyhill junction, Spring Gardens, Brookdale, Beauvale Close, Chapel Lane, Yonder Close, Plume of Feathers Close, Hollis Close and Batts Lane.

"This will enable the rest of the town to move freely around this area allowing the junior tar barrels to start at 16:00," organisers added.

There will also be additional closures from 17:00 which include: Exeter Road, Barrack Road, Cadhay Lane, Fairmile Lane, Strawberry Lane, West Hill Road, Mill Street, Canaan Way, Hind Street, Broad Street, Silver Street, the Flexton, Cornhill, Paternoster Row, Gold Street, Tip Hill, Millcroft, Higher Spring Gardens, Gosford Road, Bendarroch Road, Toadpit Lane, Claremont Field, Thorne Farm Way, Hansford Way, Elliot Close, Godfrey Close, Ferguson Close and Taylor Close.

All roads are expected to reopen at 01:00 on Thursday.

Road closures and safety advice has been issued ahead of the world-famous tradition

Timings of tar barrels

The first children's barrels start at 16:00.

In total there are 11 children's barrels, at regular intervals until the final one at 18:15.

At 18:30 the bonfire will be lit in St Saviour's meadow.

The women's, men's and intermediate barrels begin at 19:00.

There will be a total of 16 barrels through the evening, at regular intervals until the final one, the Midnight Barrel departs from The Square at 23:59.

Public transport

People are asked to check with service providers as there will be disruption to public transport, and there will not be any extra additional late night buses.

Taxis and buses will be able to drop off and collect from Salston Cross where there will be lighting throughout Strawberry Lane.

Organisers said: "Our aim, as always, is to keep the disruption to a minimum whilst ensuring the safety of pedestrians and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

"We hope you have a great time at Tar Barrels 2025.

"Our event is completely self-funded, without the generosity of the people and businesses of Ottery and the visitors on the night, the tar barrels would just not happen."