Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels is one of the year’s most thrilling celebrations
Road closures have been announced for the Ottery Tar Barrels 2025(Image: Frankie Mills)
Organisers of the annual Ottery Tar Barrels event have announced a list of road closures for this year’s spectacular show. Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels 2025 takes place on Bonfire Night, Wednesday, November 5.
The world-famous fundraiser sees people run with lit barrels filled with tar on their backs while a crowd cheers them on. The tradition goes back centuries and is believed to be a way of celebrating the capture of the Gunpowder Plotters.
Organising the show is a massive task and requires carefully planned road closures. Ottery St Mary Carnival & Tar Barrels has published 2025’s road closures measures and advice for visitors.
They say: “Our aim, as always, is to keep the disruption to a minimum whilst ensuring the safety of pedestrians and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Road closures come into force at two different times, the first at 3:30pm and the second at 5:00pm. All the closures coming into Ottery will be manned and blocked. There will be limited access for residents to the following:
- Toadpit Lane and Foxenhole via Bendarroch Road only, Barrack Rd end of Toadpit lane will be closed.
- King’s Reach from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross.
- Thorne Farm Way from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross along by King’s Reach and right onto Barrack Rd and then into Thorne Farm Way.
- Salston Barton from West Hill or the Fluxton via Salston Cross.
Those travelling between Salston Cross and Thorne Farm Way should be extra careful due to the high number of pedestrians.
Residents of King’s reach, Thorne Farm Way, and Salston Barton arriving home after 5pm should have proof of address so traffic management can allow you through the road closure.
Those who can’t get home are asked to use the car parks, pay the £10, get a receipt and claim money back.
The event attracts around 15,000 visitors from all over the world. Barrels are carried throughout the town and the crowd moving between pubs and sites of old pubs. The evening finishes in the town square with the largest barrel known as the Midnight Barrel.
Road closures have been announced for the Ottery Tar Barrels 2025(Image: Frankie Mills)
Public transport services will be disrupted so prior checks are advised. There will be no additional late night buses for the event. Taxis and buses can drop off and collect from Salston Cross and there will be lighting throughout Strawberry Lane.
The 3:30pm closure will affect the following streets and cul-de-sacs:
- Jesu St at the Tip Hill Junction
- Yonder St (Bridgefield) at the Slade Road and Furzebrook junction
- Brook St at the Silver St junction
- Sandhill St at the Cornhill Gold St junction, all the way through New Street on to the Furzebrook junction.
This closure will also affect New Lane below the Sunnyhill junction, Spring Gardens, Brookdale, Beauvale Close, Chapel Lane, Yonder Close, Plume of Feathers Close, Hollis Close and Batts Lane. This will enable the rest of the town to move freely around this area allowing the junior tar barrels to start at 4pm.
Road closures have been announced for the Ottery Tar Barrels 2025(Image: Devon Live)
The 5pm closure will affect the following streets:
Exeter Road, Barrack Road, Cadhay Lane, Fairmile Lane, Strawberry Lane, West Hill Road, Mill Street, Canaan Way, Hind Street, Broad Street, Silver Street, the Flexton, Cornhill, Paternoster Row, Gold Street, Tip Hill, Millcroft, Higher Spring Gardens, Gosford Road, Bendarroch Road, Toadpit Lane, Claremont Field, Thorne Farm Way, Hansford Way, Elliot Close, Godfrey Close, Ferguson Close and Taylor Close.
There is a free route around the town; Longdogs Lane, Slade Road, Chineway Road, Kennaway Road into Ridgeway onto North St and Butts Hill or vice versa.
Should any changes occur prior to or during the event, they will be updated on this page Ottery St Mary Carnival & Tar Barrels
There is an emergency number available for anyone who lives inside the closure zone and needs to leave the town. It is 01404 813838 and will be manned between 2pm – 1am.
⚠️ Want the latest Devon breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice ⚠️
