Padstow Obby Oss, Cornwall · Travel Poster

Every year on the first of May, Padstow stops. Drums beat, accordions strike up, and the town disappears beneath ribbons and greenery for one of England's oldest surviving May Day traditions: the Obby Oss processions, dancing through flower-strewn streets from dawn until dusk behind the sway of the Teaser.

Two Osses take to the streets. The Red 'Oss is the original, the Old 'Oss that has led the procession longer than anyone can date. The Blue Ribbon 'Oss followed in the nineteenth century, raised by the town's Temperance movement as a more sober rival. Choose your favourite, or collect both.

This poster is an original illustration in watercolour and ink, painted by Ella for the Ella's Adventures travel poster series. It comes with a letter home, in which Ella writes about Padstow, the Obby Oss tradition, and the kind of detail you will not find on a laminated information board.

No frame included.