AN ancient tradition was revived once more as the colourful Britannia Coconutters came out for Easter.

No fewer than 25 venues were on the Bacup collective’s route as they followed in the footsteps of colleagues dating back around 160 years.

Their boundary dance began, as ever, on the site of the Old Travellers Rest pub, on the Whitworth and Britannia border, before they made their way down to the Olive House care home.

Bacup Royal Court Theatre and several pubs then figured en-route before they took lunch at the New Inn. Dividing into two teams to tackle the town centre, the outfits reunited at the top of Union Street to head towards Stacksteads and their ultimate finish at The Glen.

Fortunately for an open-air dance extravaganza, the weather remained relatively kind to all of those involved.

Gavin McNulty, on behalf of the Coconutters, said: “It went very well. We had around 500 or 600 people out and there were only a couple of showers.”

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The origins of their routine remain hotly disputed but are usually said to lie with the Moorish pirates who settled in Cornwall’s tin mines in the 18th and 19th centuries, who eventually migrated to East Lancashire later.

A Coconutters spokesman said: “The dances the team perform are ‘folk dances’ and the custom of blackened faces are thought to reflect a pagan tradition as a disguise from the evil spirits and part of the mining connections.”

Today’s troupe traces it history back through the Tunstead Mill ensemble, which was going as early as 1857.

Later in the year the Coconutters have a packed programme, beginning with the Todmorden Folk Festival at the end of this month and a day of dance in Holmfirth in early May.

Another highlight will be the annual Bacup and Stacksteads Carnival, on Sunday, June 25, in Stubbylee Park.

On Sunday, July 2 an invitation has been extended to 10 guest teams as they host a day-long celebration at The Crown, in Bacup.