Crazy
holidays conjure images of abseiling off Table Mountain or jet boating in New
Zealand rather than visiting good old Blighty, but the Barmy Brits do have some
wild attractions of their own.
“Us
Brits aren’t as dull as some might think and there are plenty of exciting,
adventurous and just plain mad things to do in the UK,” says Kola Olayinka,
British Airways commercial manager for West Africa.
When
planning your holidays for 2015 he says it’s worth bearing in mind that the
Saxon bits of the Anglo Saxons trace their ancestry back to the original mad
marauders, the Vikings, arguably the pioneers of adventure tourism.
Today
in Shetland, Scotland, they still celebrate this heritage at Up Helly Aa, the
largest fire festival in Europe, held on the last Tuesday in January. The
locals dress up in full Viking regalia and the evening culminates in the
burning of a longship. Sensibly, the next day is public holiday to allow
everyone to recover. http://www.uphellyaa.org/
The
origins of the World Bog Snorkelling Championships may be somewhat murky -
possibly the first participants were practicing hiding from the Vikings – but
the modern event has taken place in Powys, Wales for the past 30 years. In
August competitors from around the world descend on the smallest town in
Britain, Llanwrtyd Wells to pit their bog snorkelling skills in the 115-metre
course. The sport isn’t quite as obscure as you might think - Lonely Planet
named it as one of the top 50 ‘must do’ things in 2014. http://www.green-events.co.uk/events.html?page=3&id=57
Although
the British have improved at scaring off foreign invaders, this has been more
of a recent development than historical trend. One must wonder what William the
Conqueror would’ve made of the good people of Witcham in Cambridgeshire, who
today host the World Pea Shooting Championships. While the skills and
marksmanship on display at the annual event are incredible, it’s not surprising
that it was the English bowmen rather than Witcham’s pea shooters which won the
day at Agincourt. http://www.cambridgeshire.net/organisation/world-pea-shooting-championship/39502.aspx#.VL5VQkeUeSo
“No list
of crazy things to do in the UK would be complete without including cheese
rolling in Gloucestershire,” says Olayinka.
As far
as can be ascertained, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Vikings. The
event dates back to the 1800s, but the official cheese rolling down Cooper’s
Hill was cancelled in 2010 after health and safety concerns – very un-Saxon.
Since then, unofficial competitors try to keep pace with a runaway round of
cheese - an apparently impossible endeavour. In fact most don’t even manage to
stay on their feet. The winner is the first person across the line after the
cheese. The prize is – surprise, surprise - a Double Gloucester Cheese and
international fame. http://www.soglos.com/sport-outdoor/27837/Gloucestershire-Cheese-Rolling
Another
event dating back to the 1800s - 1864 to be precise - is the annual Christmas
Day plunge into the freezing Serpentine in Hyde Park. Named the Peter Pan Cup
in 1904, after Sir James Barrie presented the first cup, it entails mad
swimmers racing each other for 100m across the freezing waters of the
Serpentine – temperatures are around 4oC. Unfortunately you can’t just pitch up
and join in. You need to be a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club and
possess the constitution of an arctic explorer. Still if you’re not planning
anything else next Christmas. http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/peter-pan-cup-3
British
Airways flies daily from Lagos and Abuja to London. For more information and
World on Sale special fares visit www.britishairways.com
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