Britannia Coconut Dancers perform in Easter Saturday event

The dancers, joined by the Stacksteads Band, set off from the Old Travellers Rest in Britannia just after 9am before following their seven‑mile route through Bacup and Stacksteads to finish at the Glen Service Station in Waterfoot.

This year, the team dedicated their efforts to raising funds for ANDYSMANCLUB, a men’s mental health charity that offers free peer‑to‑peer support groups across the UK.

A message on the group’s website said: “We’re incredibly proud to support ANDYSMANCLUB this year. The message that it’s okay for men to talk about their mental health is such an important one, and we’re glad to play our part by helping raise awareness.”

Video by Phil Taylor shows the dancers performing at a man’s window in Stacksteads

Despite the drizzle, locals and visitors lined the streets to cheer as the dancers made their way through town to the sound of drums and clogs.

Among the onlookers were Anne and Graham Ireland, both from Bacup, who have watched the event for decades.

Anne said: “We come to it every year, we live in Bacup. We enjoy coming to it. My dad was in it for 26 years.

The dancers in Irwell Terrace, Bacup (Image: NQ)

“It’s silly, the controversy. They’ve done it for 150 years and it’s only recently there’s been any controversy. It’s a good event that brings the community out.”

The Coconutters’ website describes the event as “a magical day filled with pride, cheer and laughter” that draws supporters from across the region to celebrate a piece of Lancashire history dating back to the 19th century, when Cornish tin miners are thought to have brought the dance to Rossendale.

Another spectator, Tom Carver, said: “You can’t help but get swept up in it – the music, the energy, the sense of tradition. Whatever people think about it, there’s no denying it’s part of Bacup’s identity.”

The troupe’s trademark blackened faces have, however, drawn criticism in recent years, with some saying the look is racially insensitive.

The dancers made several stops along the 7-mile route (Image: NQ)

The Britannia men maintain that the colouring stems from their 19th‑century mining roots, when soot was used to disguise the dancers’ faces, and that it now forms part of the costume representing “Moorish pirates.”

The group left the country’s main Morris organisation in 2020 after it urged dance teams to drop full-face black makeup.

The dancers says the focus of the day remains on charity, community, and keeping one of Lancashire’s enduring traditions alive for another generation.