Man vs. Horse Race, Powys, Wales
Britain is a nation of pea-shooters and cheese-rollers. Famous for their eccentricity, British people regularly find time to race snails, wrestle in gravy and snorkel in murky bogs - plan your trip around the quirkiest events taking place in 2013.
Up Helly Aa, SHETLAND, SCOTLAND, 29 January - Up Helly Aa is a tradition that originated in the 1880s. This annual event in Shetland is Europe’s largest fire festival and involves a torchlit procession, the burning of a Viking longship and a ceilidh which lasts late into the night.
Olney Pancake Race, Buckinghamshire, ENGLAND - The unique Olney Pancake Race literally stops traffic as energetic local ladies in traditional housewife attire (including skirt, apron and scarf), run through the streets of Olney.
World Pooh Sticks Championship, OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND - When Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin first dropped a handful of sticks from a bridge into a stream and rushed to the other side to see which came under first, who would have imagined this would start an annual tradition?
Maldon Mud Race, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 5 May - Join 250 competitors in this mad scramble through the stinking, ink-black mud of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.
Cheese rolling at Coopers Hill, SOMERSET, ENGLAND, 27 May - A passion for cheese is a must for this annual event, which involves daredevils hurling themselves down the steep, grassy slopes of Coopers Hill, near Gloucester, in pursuit of Double Gloucester cheeses.
Man vs. Horse Race, Powys, WALES, 8 June - Starting from from the square in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys (the smallest town in Britain), the race is run over 22 miles of mixed and very hilly terrain.
World Egg Throwing Championships, 30 June - Contestants have to construct a gravity-powered egg-hurling device to launch an egg to a waiting team member.
World Pea Shooting Championships, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ENGLAND, 14 July - Tension rises as the World Pea Shooting Festival in Witcham grows closer.
World Snail Racing Championship, Norfolk, ENGLAND - For more than 25 years, the World Snail Racing Championships have been held at Congham, near King's Lynn, in Norfolk.
International Worthing Birdman, WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND, August, dates TBC - The Birdman is a flight competition for human-powered flying machines held each summer in the picturesque seaside resort of Worthing on England’s south coast.
World Hen Racing Championships, Derbyshire, ENGLAND - The World Hen Racing Championships have brought an entire new meaning to "Chicken Run" – not to mention some egg-stra egg-citement to the Peak District.
Race the Train, Tywyn, MID WALES, 17 August - Race the Train event is a popular contest between man and machine. The race takes place alongside, as far as practicable, the route taken by the Talyllyn Railway on its journey to Abergynolwyn and back.
The Garlic Festival, Isle of Wight, ENGLAND, 17 – 18 August - Garlic ice cream, jelly beans, fudge and beer are just some of the unusual garlic-based produce that can be sampled at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival in Newchurch.
World Bog Snorkelling Championships, Powys, MID WALES, 25 August - Waen Rhydd peat bog on the outskirts of the smallest town in Britain, Llanwrtyd Wells, is home to this now-world-famous event.
World Gravy Wrestling Championships, Rossendale, Lancashire, ENGLAND, 26 August - The teams competing for the title slip and slide about in luke-warm gravy. Team members win points for pinning the opposition down in the gravy.
Egremont Crab Fair, Cumbria, ENGLAND, 21 September - Contestants put their heads through a horse collar and have a set time in which to contort their faces in the scariest, most grotesque, silliest expression possible. False teeth may be left in, taken out or turned upside down if desired.
The Porthcawl Elvis Festival, PORTHCAWL, SOUTH WALES, 27 – 29 September - Every September thousands of Elvis fans descend on the south Wales seaside town of Porthcawl for a unique celebration of The King.
World Stone Skimming Championships, Argyll, SCOTLAND, 29 September - Each competitor is allowed 3 skims using specially selected Easdale slate skimming stones. For a skim to qualify the stone must bounce at least three times - it is then judged on the distance achieved before it sinks.
World Conker Championships, Northamptonshire, ENGLAND, 13 October - The game of conkers has been a popular pastime of British schoolchildren for decades. Each player is given a conker attached to a piece of string and takes turns in trying to break their opponent’s nut using a swinging motion.
Golden Spurtle, Inverness, SCOTLAND - The annual World Porridge Making Championship is followed with interest by connoisseurs of Scotland's national dish across the world. Each competitor is required to produce at least 1 pint (200ml) of porridge which is to be divided into three portions for the judges to taste.
World’s Biggest Liar, LAKE DISTRICT, CUMBRIA, ENGLAND, 16 November - The annual contest is held at The Bridge Inn pub in Santon Bridge, a hamlet of the Lake District. The competition is held in honor of of 19th-century Bridge Inn landlord Will Ritson, who was famous for his incredible stories.
The Great Christmas Pudding Race – London & Brighton, ENGLAND, December - One of the wackiest races you’ll ever see; the Pudding Race will raise money for the Martlets Hospice and Cancer Research UK.
