legend has it that local smugglers caught by the excise men tried to explain their nocturnal activities as 'raking the moon from the canal' and definitely not as 'fishing out smuggled brandy'. a "moonraker" is now the official nickname for a native of the village. similar stories and nicknames exist for the neighbouring villages of golcar ("lillies"), marsden ("cuckoos") and linthwaite ("leadboilers"). the legend is also known in wiltshire, where the locals are also known as 'moonrakers'.