A nation of bizarre sports
Action from the 2015 World Championship Snail Racing at Congham - Snail Master Neil Riseborough Picture: Matthew Usher.
Wife carrying is the latest bizarre sporting craze to land on our shores.
The unofficial 50th anniversary of the revivial of Waveney Valley Dwile Flonking held at the Locks Inn, Geldeston. Picture: James Bass - Credit: Eastern Daily Press © 2016
Each spring, competitiors chase a 9lbs Double Gloucester Cheese down Cooper's Hill, near Cheltenham. A similar event takes place to promote a food and drink festival at Chester. Stilton, the Cambridgeshire village where the famed cheese originates, also has a cheese rolling race.
Welly wanging, which originated in Yorkshire, is a popular sport at country fairs and other outdoor events, especially in rural areas. Dwile flonking, which survives in the Waveney Valley, pits two teams of against each other, with members trying to avoid being hit by a beer-soaked cloth thrown by a rival.
Mud races are staged each January on the Maldon Estuary in Essex, where competitors wade through around a metre of smelly mud.
Congham, in Norfolk, is home to the World Snail Racing championships.
