World Bog Snorkelling Championship 2026

The World Bog Snorkelling Championship takes place at Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys on 30 August 2026. Held annually since 1985, this is one of Wales’s most gloriously eccentric sporting events — competitors must swim two lengths of a 60-yard trench cut through a peat bog, using only flippers and snorkel and relying purely on flipper power (no conventional swimming strokes allowed).

Llanwrtyd Wells — the smallest town in Britain — has built a remarkable reputation for this kind of improbable sporting excellence. The bog itself is Waen Rhydd, a moorland bog in the hills above the town where the competition course is cut fresh each year. Competitors come from across the world to take a shot at the record books, wearing wetsuits (essential — the bog water is cold) and whatever fancy dress they can devise.

Beyond the snorkelling, the event has a proper carnival atmosphere with a crowd of enthusiastic spectators, local food and drink, and the general sense that everyone has agreed to take part in something thoroughly brilliant. If you’ve never seen a grown adult in a wetsuit and Viking helmet fighting their way through a bog, this is your chance.

Llanwrtyd Wells sits in the upper Irfon valley in mid Powys, about 30 miles north of Brecon. Accommodation in and around the town is limited, so book early if you want to stay close to the action. The nearby market towns of Builth Wells and Llandovery both have more options and are within 20 minutes’ drive.