Pub to revive 'original' nettle eating contest

The contest has been held at Dorset Cider Farm since 2021

Every summer, hundreds of cider-swilling, nettle eating enthusiasts descend on a quiet corner of Dorset for the World Nettle Eating Championships.

But 2025 will see two versions of the prickly contest after the pub which launched the event in the 1980s announced it was "bringing it back home".

The quirky tradition was almost lost when the Bottle Inn in Marshwood closed in 2019 but, in 2021, it was revived with a new format by Dorset Nectar Cider Farm.

With the pub finally set to reopen after a major refurbishment, both venues will be hosting a nettle eating contest in the summer - albeit with some differences.

Tessa and Julian Blundy have been renovating the 16th-Century Bottle Inn

"We are asked by almost every visitor whether the stinging nettle eating competition is coming back," said Tessa Blundy, who has been renovating the grade II listed pub with her husband, Julian.

"We do not want it to develop into an argument - so the cider farm will do their stinging nettle eating competition their way and we will do ours.

"It all stemmed from the stinging nettle growing competition so we will have that, and the eating competition."

The cider farm's contest sees participants eat as many leaves as possible in 30 minutes before the empty stalks are counted.

The original format saw an hour of nettle eating and was preceded by the growing competition in which participants attempted to grow the tallest nettle stem.

Penny Strong, co-founder of the cider farm, at Waytown, eight miles (13km) from Marshwood, said it was an "unusual situation".

"Maybe they can call it the 'original nettle-eating championship' because it will be different."

The previously run-down pub has been renovated and restored.

When the cider farm revived the event, it was with agreement from all parties, but details of what should happen next seem hazy.

"We invested a lot of time and money into making it a bigger thing so we intend to continue having it," said Mrs Strong, who runs the farm with her husband and sons.

"But I think the Bottle Inn will have quite a lot of people too so I think they can both succeed."

When the Blundys - an architect and a carpenter - bought the 16th-Century Bottle Inn, the roof was leaking and it had been gutted.

"Getting weather tight took such a long time because the weather has not been on our side," said Mrs Blundy.

The pub opens for locals on select days while work on the interior continues but the couple plan to appoint a manager and reopen fully in the new year.