Molly Turner, aged six, with her brother Zachary, three, showing off their winnings from the coconut shy at Whitstable's May Day celebrations on Tankerton Slopes. Picture: Barry Goodwin.

A blustery westerly wind and occasional light showers did little to interfere with Whitstable’s annual May Day revels on Monday.

Crowds of spectators packed what has become known as the town’s Horsebridge Square for a non-stop performance of music and dance as they waited for Robin Hood and Maid Marion to lead the mysterious Jack o’ the Green to Tankerton Slopes.

Led by Canterbury’s Oyster Morris, the dancers and musicians came from Kent and Sussex for what has become one of the most popular occasions in the south-east.

Based on music and dance which is thought to go back to the Middle Ages, Morris groups are alive and thriving throughout the country and although usually based in rural areas, it has also been taken up by groups in towns and cities.

Some groups have also taken up music and dances throughout Europe and the United States and the Faversham based Creek Side Clog gave an example with Appalachion Clog Dancing accompanied by a banjo.

Nobody seems to know when and where Jack o’ the Green appeared in English folklore. A figure dressed in leaves and other greenery, he was a folklore figure throughout the country and was known as a spirit of the forest in some areas.

A popular figure at the Whitstable revels, he disappeared for some years after his costume caught fire.

Making a reappearance some year ago, he has continued to lead the Whitstable May Day procession accompanied by Robin Hood and Maid Marion - but who he is has never been revealed.

See more pictures in this week's Whitstable Gazette, out Thursday.