From bog snorkelling to Race The Train, strange things are happening on the fringes of mid and west Wales – sporting activities, but not as you know them… Julia Bottoms has more info on when and where you can take part in these unusual outdoor activities in Wales this summer.
World Bog Snorkelling Championships
The small Powys town of Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales is home to a string of unusual, yet internationally renowned, competitive outdoor activities every summer, devised by a team named Green Events. Perhaps the most widely known of these is their annual World Bog Snorkelling Championships. Who wouldn’t love to go for a 60-metre swim in a peat bog? Well, according to Lonely Planet, this is one of the top 50 must-do activities from around the world.
This unorthodox tradition requires contestants to swim two lengths of Waen Rydd peat bog, with their face submerged in the water, though occasional looking up for direction-adjusting purposes is permitted. Surely one of the UK’s strangest traditions (and an idea initially conceived in a pub, perhaps not wholly surprisingly), the World Bog Snorkelling Championship is a bizarre, unique and muddy test of skill and endurance (or survival).
Waen Rydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Sun 25 Aug
Info: here
Welsh Open Stone Skimming
Another Green Events special, this year’s Welsh Open Stone Skimming Championships take place in Llanwrtyd Wells on Sat 3 Aug at Abernant lake, a short walk from the town. The event uses ‘artificial’ skimming stones (formed from reconstituted stone) in various shapes and sizes to suit all ages and capabilities. Competitions for various age and experience categories are held throughout the day, including the Old Tosser division for ages 60 and over, before a playoff finale – known, perhaps inevitably, as the ‘toss-off’ – for each section’s top three skimmers.
Abernant Lake, Llanwrtyd Wells, Sat 3 Aug
Info: here
Summer Cider Cycle
Taking in the vistas of Llanwrtyd Wells and beyond is the Summer Cider Cycle, a non-competitive bike ride beginning this year at 10 am. This outdoor trail in Wales will lead riders through delightful hills, forests and valleys, interspersed with checkpoints where you’ll be able to neck a quick bag-in-a-box cider (or perry). There’s a choice of riding distances, from 14 to 25 miles, so you can sip and cycle at your leisure.
Llanwrtyd Wells town centre (starting point), Sat 10 Aug
Info: here
World Mountain Bike Chariot Racing Championship
Directly after the Cider Cycle, cross over town to join the Mountain Bike Chariot Racing event. What is a mountain bike chariot’ you may ask? It’s a special chariot built by welding traditional Roman mild steel and vulcanised rubber, and they are designed to be pulled by two mountain bikes alongside each other. The event is open to teams of three people – two riders and one charioteer – with an entry fee of £25 per team.
Llanwrtyd Wells town centre (starting point), Sat 10 Aug
Info: here
Race The Train Tywyn
Every year, Tywyn Rotary Club’s cross-country running event attracts runners from far and wide to this small town near Cardigan Bay. The more unusual of its outdoor activities, Race The Train is exactly what it sounds like – try to beat the historic Tallinn railway steam train on its journey to Abergynolwyn and back. With entry fees of £5-£38, the competition offers several different lengths of multi-terrain races, all with the beautiful scenery of Wales’ Meirionydd Mountains.
Talyllyn Railway station bridge (starting point), Sat 17 Aug
Info: here
words JULIA BOTTOMS
