Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels 2026 – Times, Parking and Visitor Guide

We’ve been lucky enough to live within walking distance of Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels, so we have been many times over the years, though these days the fair’s fast rides, while still tempting, are probably best left to others. If you only visit one Bonfire Night event in Devon, make it this one, because every 5 November the town erupts into one of Britain’s most unusual and thrilling traditions.

As late afternoon turns to evening, the narrow streets fill with smoke, noise and anticipation as locals hoist flaming barrels of tar onto their shoulders and charge through the crowd. It’s wild, exciting, and steeped in history- one of the most extraordinary and unusual things to do in Devon, and a fiery spectacle you have to see to believe.

The Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels are more than just a Bonfire Night event. They’re a long-standing community tradition, passed down through local families for generations. Each year, the town’s barrel rollers carry flaming barrels through packed streets as thousands of people watch. It’s an event that belongs entirely to Ottery, shaped by local pride, teamwork, and a real sense of community, which is great to see.

Visitors come from across the UK and beyond to experience the firelit chaos, a mixture of old tradition, carnival atmosphere, and personal courage. Whether you are coming for the first time or returning, the 2026 Tar Barrels should be another unforgettable night.

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What happens at the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels?

On 5 November, barrels lined with tar are set alight outside pubs and former pub sites around Ottery St Mary. Local barrel rollers lift them onto their shoulders and carry them through the streets as the crowd opens a path.

The junior barrels begin at around 4 pm. The main evening barrels start at 7 pm and continue through the night, becoming progressively larger. The final and largest is known officially as the Midnight Barrel and locally as the “Gurt Big Un”.

There is no single viewing area. The action moves between different parts of the town and individual barrels can pass surprisingly quickly. We strongly recommend buying the official programme when it becomes available. It normally contains the running order, approximate times and locations, and it is much easier than trying to work out where everyone is heading next. Programme sales also help fund the event.

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Our experience of the Tar Barrels

Having lived close enough to walk into Ottery, we have experienced the event both before the main crowds arrive and later, when it’s at its busiest.

The junior barrels are a good introduction. The town is already lively, but it is easier to understand how the event works before the adult barrels begin. By evening, Ottery feels completely different. Smoke hangs between the buildings, the crowd presses towards the sides of the street, and the glow of an approaching barrel appears above people’s heads.

The heat is the bit that photographs just cannot show. Even from a distance, you can feel it as a barrel passes. The rollers can change direction quickly. One moment you may think you are well out of the way, and the next a burning barrel is heading towards you, and you need to move.

Our best advice is to arrive early, buy a programme, and agree on a meeting point. Because of the crowds, mobile reception can become intermittent, and it is easy to lose sight of someone when the crowd moves. Wear warm, weatherproof clothes and sensible footwear you don’t mind getting smoky or muddy.

Food stalls, drinks, local cider, and the fair all add to the atmosphere, with the bonfire adding to the spectacle later in the evening. The barrels are still the main reason to come, though.

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Is the Ottery Tar Barrels event safe?

The Tar Barrels involve open fire, burning tar and very dense crowds. The event is carefully marshalled, but visitors may still find themselves close to the flames and must follow the organisers’ instructions.

The organisers use event stewards, medical cover and crowd monitoring throughout the evening. Barrel routes can also be changed if an area becomes too crowded, which is another reason to follow the marshals’ instructions rather than relying on a particular barrel appearing at an exact time or location.

The official safety advice includes:

• Do not run away when a barrel approaches. Step back, lean away, and let it pass. Running can cause a crowd surge.
• Never touch a lit barrel.
• Follow the directions of event stewards and barrel marshals.
• Do not bring fireworks or glass bottles.
• Do not bring a pushchair.
• Do not bring animals.
• Do not take small children to the evening barrels after 7 pm.
• Arrange a meeting point in case you lose sight of others because mobile signal can be intermittent.

The organisers also warn that the evening is unsuitable for people who are frightened of fire, uncomfortable in tightly packed crowds, or have limited mobility. Toilets are available throughout the town, including the car park behind Sainsbury’s.

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Can children attend the Tar Barrels?

Junior barrels begin at approximately 4 pm, when the event is generally less intense than it becomes later. However, parents should still expect crowds and live fire.

The organisers strongly advise visitors not to bring children after 7 pm and state that pushchairs are not permitted. If a child becomes separated from an adult, contact an event steward or barrel marshal immediately.

From our experience, the evening crowd can become extremely dense and move suddenly when a barrel changes direction. Families wanting to experience the tradition should consider the junior barrels and leave before things get more intense later in the evening.

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Parking for Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels 2026

One of the biggest questions visitors ask each year is where to park for the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels. For 2026, the organisers have confirmed three official parking options.

Barrack Road, EX11 1RD opens at 3.20pm. If you’re approaching from Exeter, follow the event signs from the A30 at the Daisy Mount junction.

Otter Garden Centre, Gosford Road, EX11 1LZ opens at 4pm. If you’re approaching from Honiton, the organisers advise leaving the A30 for the B3177 and approaching through Alfington.

Ottery St Mary Cricket Club, Strawberry Lane opens for early parking at 3pm, with entry available until 5pm, when the wider road closures come into force.

Parking costs £20 per car and includes an event programme. The money raised from parking helps support the Tar Barrels and local organisations.

Road closures begin from 3.30pm, with wider closures affecting the main routes into Ottery from 5pm. Don’t plan to drive into the town centre. Follow the event signs and directions from traffic marshals when you arrive.

We recommend arriving early and allowing plenty of time. The event can reach capacity and, if the car parks fill or too many people are approaching the town, the organisers may close car parks and routes into Ottery.

Parking arrangements can also be affected by weather. Check the official Ottery St Mary Carnival and Tar Barrels website or official Tar Barrels Facebook page before setting off.

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Getting to Ottery St Mary

By car

Ottery St Mary is close to the A30, around 12 miles east of Exeter and approximately 5 miles from Honiton. On Tar Barrels night, use the signed event parking rather than heading into the town centre. Wider road closures come into force from 5pm, so allow plenty of extra time for your journey.

By bus

Regular buses connect Ottery St Mary with surrounding towns, but expect disruption on 5 November because of the road closures. There are no additional late-night buses for the event, so check your service and plan your return journey before travelling, particularly if you intend to stay for the later barrels or the Midnight Barrel.

During the road closures, buses and taxis can drop off and collect passengers at Salston Cross, with a lit walking route into town along Strawberry Lane. Check the official Tar Barrels website and your transport provider for the latest arrangements before travelling.

For further information, check Stagecoach and Travel Devon

By train

Ottery St Mary has no railway station. Feniton and Honiton are the nearest practical stations, on the line between Exeter and London Waterloo, but both require an onward bus or taxi.

If travelling by rail, compare times and fares on Omio, then arrange the final part of the journey and your return before you set out. Taxis are likely to be busy and affected by the road closures.

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Where to stay for the Ottery Tar Barrels

Staying locally makes sense if you want to see the later barrels. The Midnight Barrel finishes long after most public transport services end, and road closures and heavy traffic can make the drive home feel even longer.

Accommodation within walking distance is limited and books up early. If you book early, several self-catering options near Ottery St Mary are available, which is particularly convenient if you hope to walk to and from the event. Check the location and the safest walking route carefully before booking.

You can check accommodation in and around Ottery St Mary through Booking.com. Devon Hideaways also lists cottages across the wider East Devon area.

Honiton, Sidmouth, and Exeter offer a wider choice of hotels and self-catering accommodation, but they aren’t walkable alternatives. Book a taxi or plan a workable bus route before choosing an out-of-town stay.

If you’re only making a short break, allow time to explore the town using our independent Ottery St Mary visitor guide. Sidmouth and the East Devon coast are also close enough for a day trip.

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The bonfire, fair and food stalls

The traditional bonfire takes place on St Saviour’s Meadow beside the River Otter, with the nearby fair, food stalls and drinks all adding to the atmosphere.

The bonfire on St Saviour’s Meadow is usually lit between 5.30pm and 7pm, between the junior barrels and the main evening barrels. The exact timing is published in the official event programme and may vary on the night, so we recommend checking the programme rather than planning around a precise time.

Food stalls usually line parts of the town, particularly around Mill Street, with burgers, chips, hot dogs, sweet treats and hot drinks. Some local businesses also serve food outside their shops, while pubs and cider are a big part of the evening.

Card machines can struggle when the mobile network is busy, so it’s sensible to carry some cash. The organisers describe the event as glass- and plastic-free and ask visitors not to bring glass bottles. You can bring your own reusable cup or buy one at the event. Reusable event cups come in half-pint, pint, and two-pint sizes and can be kept for another year or returned at the organisers’ collection points.

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History of the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels

The exact origins of the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels have been lost over time. Locals describe the tradition as hundreds of years old and believe it likely developed after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when bonfires became part of annual commemorations across England.

However, this is only one explanation. Local stories also link burning barrels to fumigating cottages, cleansing the streets, or warning residents of the approach of the Spanish Armada. No surviving record proves any of these theories, and this uncertainty has become part of the tradition’s appeal.

From rolling barrels to carrying them

Towns and villages across the West Country once featured burning barrels and torchlit processions. Originally, people rolled flaming barrels through the streets, as they did in several other local celebrations.

At some point, Ottery’s tradition evolved. Instead of rolling the barrels, local participants began lifting them onto their shoulders and carrying them through the crowd. It’s unclear exactly when and why this change happened.

Today, Ottery St Mary is said to be the only town in the country where people still carry full-sized flaming tar barrels through the streets this way. Other places retain different fire traditions, but the combination of burning barrels, local carriers and densely packed town-centre streets is definitely Ottery.

Even now, participants are still known as barrel rollers, even though they carry the barrels rather than roll them.

A tradition built around Ottery’s pubs

The barrels are traditionally associated with pubs and former pub sites around the town. Each is lit at its designated location, then lifted onto a roller’s shoulders and carried through the surrounding streets.

There is no single procession or fixed viewing area. Instead, spectators move between locations as they prepare and light successive barrels. This is why the official programme is so useful: it gives approximate times and locations for barrels across the town.

Pub involvement also helps create the evening’s local sense of community. Food, cider and laughter have always been part of the event, but the pubs are more than places for spectators to gather. They are part of the Tar Barrels’ history.

Preparing the barrels

The wooden barrels are prepared well before 5 November. People apply layers of tar in advance, so the barrels burn when they are eventually filled, lit, and carried.

Historic accounts describe barrels in traditional sizes, including nine-gallon firkins, eighteen-gallon kilderkins, and much larger hogsheads. Different sizes serve different groups of rollers, with smaller barrels appearing earlier in the day and progressively larger ones carried as the evening continues.

People closely involved in the event prepare in advance, which is part of the year-round work required to keep the tradition alive. Organising the barrels, bonfire, road closures, stewarding and crowd safety involves considerable work from local volunteers.

Who can carry a tar barrel?

The right to carry a barrel is closely connected with Ottery St Mary. Barrel rollers must have been born in Ottery or own a business in the town.

Participation often runs through families, with children growing up watching parents and grandparents carry barrels before taking part themselves. It is not unusual for several generations of the same family to be involved on the same evening.

This local connection is central to the event. Visitors are welcomed in the thousands, but carrying the barrels remains an Ottery tradition, not something you can try yourself!

From the junior barrels to the Midnight Barrel

The tradition begins with the junior barrels at around 4 pm. These smaller barrels introduce younger rollers to an event that many of their families may have participated in for generations.

As darkness falls, the barrels become larger. Youths, women, and men take turns from different locations around the town, with the main evening barrels beginning at 7 pm.

The final and largest barrel is carried close to midnight. Official information calls it the Midnight Barrel, though locals also know it as the “Gurt Big Un”. “Gurt” is a West Country word for large or great.

The Midnight Barrel provides the dramatic conclusion to the night. Experienced rollers lift, control, and carry it as the crowd gathers for the final spectacle.

More than a Bonfire Night event

The Tar Barrels take place on 5 November each year, unless the date falls on a Sunday. Although the tradition is closely associated with Bonfire Night, it has become something much more specific to Ottery St Mary.

The barrels, giant bonfire, fair, and crowds create the spectacle, but local families, businesses, volunteers, stewards, and organisers keep the event going. Having attended many times, we think this community ownership is what makes the evening feel so different from an ordinary organised firework display.

The Tar Barrels have changed over the centuries, particularly as safety and crowd management have become more important, but their essential character remains. Locals still prepare flaming barrels, light them around town, and carry them through Ottery’s streets.

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Ottery St Mary Carnival 2026

Ottery St Mary Carnival is separate from the Tar Barrels and took place on Friday 16 October 2026.

The carnival procession was once held on the same evening as the bonfire and Tar Barrels. As crowds grew, organisers separated the events to make them safer and easier to manage. The carnival now takes place earlier in the autumn, while the Tar Barrels remain firmly tied to 5 November.

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Is the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels worth visiting?

Yes, provided you understand what you are getting into and act accordingly. We have been many times and think it is one of Devon’s most spectacular nights. It is exciting, a proper Devon community occasion and great fun, with flaming barrels, fairground lights, food, cider and a huge bonfire creating an atmosphere unlike any ordinary Bonfire Night display.

The streets can get busy and densely packed, and it can get surprisingly hot when a barrel passes close by. Stay alert, listen to the marshals, and calmly make space when necessary. If a barrel comes towards you, step aside or lean away rather than attempting to run.

Arrive early and please consider supporting the volunteers by buying an official programme or merchandise, or making a donation. The Tar Barrels survive because the local community puts enormous effort into keeping the tradition going.

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Official information and more Devon events

For final timings, parking changes, road closures and safety announcements, check the official Ottery St Mary Carnival and Tar Barrels website and the official Tar Barrels Facebook page before travelling. The Facebook page is particularly useful for the latest event updates and any last-minute changes.

You may also be interested in:

• Things to do in Ottery St Mary
• Devon Christmas lights, markets and events
• What’s on in South West England

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Helpful Sites:

• Booking.com – for most accommodation needs. Look out for options that include free cancellation.
• Easy Tide – Free UK tidal prediction service, providing tidal data and tide times for the current day and 6 days into the future.
• Expedia – good for flights and packages.
• GetYourGuide – find and book things to see. Includes unusual things to do.
• Hostelworld – Hostel-focused booking platform that fosters backpacker connections.
• MetOffice – Weather forecasts from the UK’s official meteorological office.
• National Express – UK-based coach operator providing long-distance bus services
• Omio – Book travel tickets by comparing trains, buses and planes in one search.
• Rental Cars – Search and book hire cars.
• Rome2Rio – Great for comparing local transport options (and for locating bus stops).
• Ticketmaster – What’s On – Major Events – Venues – Bookings
• Trainline.com – our go-to online platform for booking train and bus tickets, offering route planning, price comparisons, seat reservations, and ticket sales.
• Traffic England – for live traffic updates on major roads.
• Traveline SW – Comprehensive public transport information from A to B by bus, coach, train, and ferry in South West England and Great Britain.
• TripAdvisor – for reviews of… pretty much everything. Our go-to before booking anything.
• Vrbo – Great for self-catering and vacation holiday home rentals.

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