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The Village of Wray in Lancashire (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
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Visitors to the Lancashire village of Wray will find it steeped in history, brimming with unique character and a testament to the passionate locals who shape its identity.
Nestled within the City of Lancaster district, Wray embodies a quintessentially English way of village life that has been preserving its historical and cultural heritage for centuries.
The village offers all the essentials within its boundaries, including a pub, church, tearoom, garden centre and even a community shop that was rescued from shutting down a few years ago.
Since 1992, the highlight of Wray’s annual calendar has been the Scarecrow Festival, drawing visitors from across the country in the run-up to May Day.
The festival sees villagers proudly showcasing scarecrows in their windows – a tradition so cherished that many leave them up year-round.
The Mosaic in the Flood Garden (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
But beneath the joviality of this family-friendly event lies a sombre chapter in Wray’s history, that is still vivid in the memory of its residents.
On August 8, 1967, the River Roeburn, which meanders through the village, burst its banks in a flash flood.
The deluge swept away houses, bridges, and personal belongings. Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported as the disaster struck during daylight hours, but the scale of destruction was immense, reports Lancs Live.
In 2000 the Millennium Mosaic was installed at the site of the floods, symbolising the wind and storm that took place on that fateful day. The mosaic is now a feature of the village’s Flood Garden, standing where houses once stood.
Despite it’s tragic past, the area is considered a desirable place to live, offering a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Historic cottages, dating back to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, line most of the streets and the local pub, the George and Dragon, is popular among villagers who enjoy a traditional dish of fish and chips on Fridays or a few drinks in the sun during summer.
Local shop manager Malcolm Evans (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Greenfoot Garden Centre on Main Street neighbours Bridge House Farm tea room, a favourite spot for families, couples and friends to meet and admire the views while enjoying a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
Wray’s unique charm is not only derived from its culture, history and architecture but also, and perhaps most importantly, from its residents.
Malcolm Evans is the manager at Wray Village Store. Due to close three years ago when the previous owners retired, the community rallied together to reopen it.
“We think of ourselves as the heart of the community,” beamed Malcolm to LancsLive during a visit to Wray. “It’s a central point and we’ve got a good volunteer pool and all of them live in the village.”
The shop received a much-needed revitalisation from the new team two years back, infusing new life into the hub for locals. “It’s just a really nice social space for people,” Malcom added.
“We sell material from local artists but to be honest, we really rely on the scarecrow festival period to make us sustainable as a business.
“We have a lot of cyclists coming through, so we have a little cyclist section with tubes and stuff. We also do refillables for laundry and stuff, because from day one we wanted to have refillables.
“People embrace it because it’s cheaper and most of the products we buy are eco-friendly. For such a small community, there is a lot going on.”
This year, the festival, with a ‘circus’ theme, is running from April, 26 until 5 May, 5 (Image: Visit Lancashire)
One of the volunteers, Judith, explained the Scarecrow Festival was an idea brought over by traditions that had already been cemented in France.
She says the festival, which runs from the last week of April until the first weekend of May, was started by a local resident who holidayed over The Channel and decided to bring the concept to Wray.
Judith said: “It started as a day, then a weekend and now it’s a whole week. I wouldn’t like to guess how long it’s been going on for, but I would say over 30 years.”
Residents state the village is the first to hold such a festival – and they definitely go all out every time. Last year, the festival started on Saturday April 27 and ended on Monday, May 6 in the village.
On the first day, a 10k road race started, with a car boot the next day and events such as ‘Forest of Bowland Populaire’ and ‘Fantastical Quests’.
The Giant Scarecrow Parade took place on Friday, May 3 and 6.30pm, followed by the Batala Samba Reggae Band.
This year, the festival, with a ‘circus’ theme, is running from April, 26 until 5 May, 5, starting at 10am.
