We are Recruiting!

Winter and spring is practice season, and we are looking for new recruits. Whether you areĀ an experienced Morris dancer, a ceilidh dancer, or a complete beginner, we’d love to hear from you. Our practice day is Monday, and more information can be found on the Practices and Joining page. Do something different in 2020, try… Continue reading We are Recruiting!

Chinley & Buxworth WI

Cracken with a few of the members of Chinley and Buxworth WI

As we practice in the Chinley and Buxworth WI Hall, we wondered if the WI members would like us to go along to one of their meetings to talk about Morris generally and about the Cotswold tradition in particular. They jumped at the opportunity. Little did some members know that once we’d spent some time… Continue reading Chinley & Buxworth WI

Cracken Gets a Logo

Thanks to the talented Kerri, we now have a logo. Now we all want it on a T-shirt, on a beer glass, … and there was some talk of a tattoo.

Collecting Hazel Sticks

Thanks to the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers team, specifically Dave Cramp for arranging things and Nick Baker for being our host for the day, Jason, Beth, Lucy, and Adam spent a day weilding bow saws, loppers, and pruning saws in Coombs Wood near Stoney Middleton. A large quantity of hazel was coppiced and among all… Continue reading Collecting Hazel Sticks

Post-Practice Pub

Our post-practice pub is usually the nearby Old Hall Inn, or sometimes at the Paper Mill Inn. We’re there from around 9:45pm on most practice nights, comparing the beers, planning the next adventure, or just talking nonsense.

Kit

As a newly-formed side in 2017, the question “what to wear” kept us busy over several pub sessions. We agreed quite quickly about the avoidance of white trousers and that we should adopt a monochrome theme. We also decided that rather than having a uniform, having coherent but personal kit was the way we would… Continue reading Kit

Why Cracken Morris?

We called ourselves “Cracken Morris” mostly because we liked the sound of it, but the name works for us because of multiple associations. Firstly, Cracken Edge is a geographical feature overlooking where we practice and yet the name isn’t so tied to a well-known place that we’d become a hostage to fortune if our practice… Continue reading Why Cracken Morris?

Bollington Folk and Boat

Our first ever dance-out was at Clarence Mill as part of the Bollington Folk and Boat day on Sept 9th. Cracken concluded the day’s dancing after various of its members had been taking people on canal trips – Jason, who works for Bollington Wharf Marina, the organiser of the day – dancing with Powerkegs Border… Continue reading Bollington Folk and Boat