The Legend of the Wiltshire Moonrakers

Have you ever wondered why folk from Wiltshire are referred to as Moonrakers? Well this is one story as to why.

One clear moonlit night a band of smugglers risked being seen transporting their contraband from their hiding place to its final destination when suddenly a lookout signalled that customs men were on the patrol. The quick witted smugglers dumped their barrels into a nearby pond and hid themselves in tall grass nearby until the all clear had been given.

However the lookout had been too quick to give the go ahead to retrieve the contraband from the pond and an alert excise man stumbled across the men "raking the pond". He asked what did they think they were doing and a very fast thinking smuggler said that they were trying to rake the moon (the reflection of which was clear on the ponds still surface) from the bottom of the pond and sell its cheese at market.

The excise officer laughed hysterically and went away telling all who would listen about how stupid the country folk were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From that night on Wiltshire folk were known as Moonrakers but we are not as stupid as the officer made us out to be.