Allendale Tar Bar’l — Welcoming in the New Year - 2026
Every New Year’s Eve, the quiet Northumberland village of Allendale is transformed by fire, smoke, and centuries of tradition. The Tar Bar’l is thought to date back to the mid 1800s, when flaming barrels were first used to light the streets for a New Year celebration. Over time, it evolved into one of the UK’s most dramatic and enduring new year’s eve traditions, a fiery farewell to the old year and a bold welcome to the new.
A Guiser throwing a tar barrel onto the bonfire
As night fell, I followed the procession through the village streets, photographing the guisers as they carried blazing barrels balanced on their heads. Dressed in colourful costumes and cloaked in smoke, they moved steadily through the crowds, accompanied by the sound of a brass band and the crackle of burning wood. The light from the flames cut through the darkness, illuminating their faces as they went.
The torches getting lit
It was a cold and blustery night, with a stiff wind whipping the smoke sideways and a light drizzle hanging in the air. This only added to the atmosphere and as a photographer it created exciting conditions to work in.
At midnight, the burning barrels were thrown onto a towering bonfire, erupting into a final burst of light and heat. A final chance to capture the event in all its glory.
The procession making its way through the town
