Tug of war

This morning the annual Boxing Day tug of war took place across the River Nidd in Knaresborough.
On either side of Knaresborough low bridge there is a pub, the Half Moon, and the Mother Shipton. Regulars from each pub make up a women's and men's team. To make it fair, there are a number of matches, with the teams swapping sides of the river each time. Today's shot is one of the women's events.
The Knaresborough town crier (see extra) officiated the event from the bridge.
I was expecting to see some of the contestants ending up in the water, but sadly we were not treated to such a spectacle.
The pubs themselves were doing a brisk trade, and the hot mulled wine on sale was particularly welcome.