Haxey was the original capital of the Isle of Axholme, which was almost destroyed by fire in 1741. The village’s Grade I listed Anglican parish church, dedicated to St Nicholas, originates from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is of mainly Perpendicular Gothic style. The tower is of three stages, with an embattled parapet. Also the home to the “Haxey Hood”, a rugby-style game dating back to the 14th century, the event sees crowds from the villages of Haxey and Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire pile in to push a leather tube – the Hood – towards their favourite local pub. Estimated to date back over 650 years to 1359, the story goes that Lady de Mowbray, the wife of local landowner John de Mowbray, was riding towards Westwoodside from Haxey when her silk riding hood was blown off in the wind. Thirteen farm workers saw this and chased the hood all over the field to try to return it to her. One eventually picked it up but was too shy to approach the Lady, so he gave it to another worker who handed it back. Lady de Mowbray thanked the man who returned it, saying he had acted like a lord, while branding the first man a fool. So amused was she by the chase and the act of chivalry to return the hood, Lady de Mowbray donated 13 acres of land to the local people, on condition that the chase was re-enacted every year. The game itself is played every year on the twelfth night of Christmas – 6 January – but the build-up starts long before that. There are plenty of of walks (40+ miles) linking local towns and villages including Epworth; home of the John Wesley who founded Methodism.