Close-up on a lawn bowling game
© Graham Turner/Alam
Let’s have a ball
You know a game must be fun if it’s stuck around for eight centuries – and that’s how long folks have been playing lawn bowls (in some form or another). It was the invention of the lawn mower in 1830, allowing for smooth, freshly-cut playing fields, that really popularised the sport. Our homepage features balls called ‘woods’ or ‘bowls’, that competitors use during game play. The objective is to roll the grapefruit-sized balls towards a smaller ball called a ‘jack’, and points are awarded to the players that are closest. Fancy a game?
Related Images
An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Hope Valley, Peak District, England
Glastonbury Tor and St Michael's Tower in England for the start of the Glastonbury Festival
Gerenuk in Tsavo National Park, Kenya
Peel Castle on St Patrick’s Isle, Isle of Man
Sunset at Counts Point in West MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory, Australia
Zebras in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Swift fox pups in Grasslands National Park near Val Marie in Saskatchewan, Canada
Bing Today Images
Sellin Pier, Rügen, Germany
Aug 31, 2026
Saguaro cacti, Ironwood National Monument, Arizona
Aug 31, 2023
Đurđevića Tara Bridge, Montenegro
Aug 31, 2021
Oyster mushrooms in Belgium
Aug 31, 2020
Early blooming crocus
Aug 31, 2016
