It's not often that you're encouraged to lie through your teeth, but for the annual Biggest Liar in the Wold Competition at the Bridge Inn in Holmrook, the more far-fetched your fibs are, the better.
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This unusual competition was inspired by the legendary tall tales of Victorian publican Will Ritson. Since 1974, the good people of Holmrook have honoured his memory by holding a lying competition, in order to see who can match his economy with veracity.
Previous winners' stories include a geological account of the formation of the Lake District by giant moles and tales about the fish-farming of mermaids.
The winner of the competition "may be publicly billed, advertised or referred to as The Biggest Liar in the World for as long as he or she holds the title".
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History
The World's Biggest Liar competition is held every November at the Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge, in memory of Will Ritson (1808-1890), a pub landlord from Wasdale, who was well-known for his "tall tales".One of Ritson's most famous fibs was that turnips grew so large in the Lake District that people carved them out to make sheds for housing sheep.
Way back in the 19th Century, a famous Cumbrian called Will Ritson (1808-1890) was the popular publican who lived at the head of the Wasdale Valley in the English Lake District.
In this remote and beautiful valley, Will always kept his customers enthralled with stories of the folk heritage of this delightful area.
The valley was already well-known for having England's deepest lake (Wastwater), the highest mountain (Scafell Pike), the smallest Church (Wasdale Head Church) and Will Ritson achieved its fourth superlative when he became -" THE WORLD'S BIGGEST LIAR"
Of course, Will was a very sincere and genuine man, who insisted that all his tales were true. Perhaps the visitors simply didn't have the level of perception with which Will was bestowed. Will claimed that the turnips in Wasdale were so big that after the dalesfolk had "quarried" into them for their Sunday lunch, they could be used as sheds for the Herdwick Sheep from the fells.
Each year, in November, a contest is held to award the title of "The Biggest Liar in the World" to the person who is worthy of following in the footsteps of "Auld Will".
The contest, held at the Bridge Inn, attracts world wide attention, and in recent years the audience has learned facts like how the Lake District was formed - not by ice or volcanic action, but by large moles and eels!
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