Rush hour in Ambleside; and everyone knows what to do

While events such as the British Grand Prix and the men's final at Wimbledon quite rightly took centre-stage last weekend, another quintessentially English occasion was bringing pleasure to hundreds of people in the Lake District village of Ambleside . Rushbearing has taken place in this small town at the top end of Windermere 's 10.5 miles for hundreds of years - Lakes poet and local resident, William Wordsworth took part in it in the 19th century. Its original purpose - to dress the church's earthen floor and make it smell sweet - may have been lost but it is still an event that brings the community together. The Rev Tim Ball is new to St Mary's church but he recognises the role that historic events can play. These old traditions remind us of where we come from and help us understand who we are. The rushbearing tradition and others like it remind us of our shared story. It helps us belong to one another in the community and joins us in time with generation past and future. It's also good fun. The rushbearers start at the church and then parade through the town - helped this year by Burneside brass band from nearby Kendal - and return to the church for a short service. After the service all children receive a piece of the local delicacy, gingerbread, before taking part in an afternoon of sports. Rushbearing is also very colourful. Everyone carries rushes but there are also wooden structures covered in moss and decorated with flowers. At Ambleside these include the Harp of David and the Crown of the World at the head of the procession. Halfway round, everyone stops in front of the Queen's Hotel and the Ambleside Rushbearers' Hymn is sung. Sing we the good Creator's praise, Who sends us sun and showers To cheer our hearts with fruitful days And deck our world with flowers! goes one verse of the hymn. This year He (or She) decided to send sun rather than showers in marked contrast to so much of this summer thus far. Once they hymn was finished, the cry went out as it does every year, "Bearings up!" - and the rushes are raised high in the air before the procession continues. The chair of the rushbearing committee is Judith Shingler who explains an unusual but successful administrative model which other organisations might like to copy. She says: Hundreds are involved in the organisation of the rushbearing but we only have one meeting a year at which not many people turn up. And we just say 'Are you okay to do what you always do' and they go away and get on with it. Curiously for an event locked in tradition, she believes that flexibility has been the key to survival; for example, when rushbearing has clashed with other major events the committee has happily changed the date. The climax for the day is the traditional fell race up Loughrigg fell . The winner receives the Clive Braithwaite Trophy - named in memory of the man who ran the course in 10 minutes 32 seconds in the 1970s, a record which still stands. Rushbearing still takes place at a number of other churches in Cumbria. Grasmere , just up the road from Ambleside, holds its procession on Saturday July 21 at 3.30pm. Grasmere is also legendary in the world of fell-running with its Senior Guides Race in August featuring dramas in the past such as a contestant breaking both ankles - but still finishing . Alan Cleaver is a freelance journalist and writer based in Whitehaven.