Cheese rolling is one of the strangest sports in the UK. It’s an annual event held in Gloucestershire, where participants chase a 9-pound wheel of cheese down a steep hill. The slope is dangerously uneven, and while catching the cheese is impossible, the goal is to be the first to reach the bottom. Injuries are common, but the thrill of the race keeps participants coming back each year.

• Held at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire.
• Participants race down a dangerously steep hill.
• The winner is the first to reach the finish line.

This bizarre sport, held in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, involves competitors snorkelling through a water-filled trench in a peat bog. Bog snorkelling participants must complete two lengths of the bog, but without using traditional swimming strokes. It’s a wet, muddy challenge that has become a local favourite and deserves its place among the strangest sports in the UK.

• Takes place in a bog trench in Wales.
• Competitors wear snorkels and flippers but cannot swim normally.
• It’s about completing two laps of the bog trench as quickly as possible.

An ancient sport with roots dating back to the 17th century, shin kicking is exactly what it sounds like. Competitors grab each other’s shoulders and try to kick each other’s shins in an attempt to knock their opponent to the ground. While it sounds painful, participants often stuff straw in their trousers for protection.

• Dating back to the 1600s, it’s one of the oldest odd sports.
• Participants aim to knock each other down by kicking the shins.
• Straw is often used as padding to lessen the impact.

Welly Wanging, or Welly Throwing, is a sport where participants hurl a Wellington boot as far as they can. Originating from a pub challenge in Yorkshire, this humorous sport has since grown into an event with strict rules, including the type of boot used.

• Competitors throw a Wellington boot as far as possible.
• The sport originated in Yorkshire.
• It has formal rules, including regulations on the boot’s size.

In this lighthearted competition, husbands carry their wives (or partners) through an obstacle course, usually over their shoulders. The sport of wife carrying, which has roots in Finland, has found a loyal following in the UK with its mix of humour and athleticism.

• Competitors must carry their partners through an obstacle course.
• The person being carried can be anyone, not just a spouse.
• The event is now held annually, with prizes for both winners and last place.

A classic playground game, conkers involves smashing horse chestnuts (conkers) together to see whose nut breaks first. The sport has been formalised into national championships, complete with stringent rules on the type of conkers used.

• The sport involves smashing conkers together until one breaks.
• It has developed into an official championship.
• The conkers must meet specific size and hardness standards.

Toe wrestling is a sport where participants lock toes and try to pin their opponent’s foot to the ground, similar to arm wrestling but with feet. The World Toe Wrestling Championships have been held in Derbyshire since the 1970s, drawing participants from around the world to see one of the strangest sports in the UK.

• Competitors lock toes and try to force their opponent’s foot down.
• It’s like arm wrestling but with feet.
• Derbyshire is home to the annual world championships.

In this sport, teams of two stand apart and throw a raw egg back and forth, increasing the distance with each successful throw. The winner in egg throwing is the team that can throw and catch the egg from the farthest distance without it breaking. Clearly one of the strangest sports in the UK!

• The sport involves throwing and catching raw eggs.
• Teams must stand farther apart with each throw.
• The goal is to catch the egg without breaking it.

Gurning competitions involve participants pulling the most grotesque facial expressions possible. The World Gurning Championship takes place annually in Cumbria, where competitors put their heads through a horse collar and pull extreme faces.

• Participants make exaggerated facial expressions.
• It’s been part of UK rural fairs for centuries.
• The annual world championship takes place in Cumbria.

Dwile Flonking – one of the strangest sports in the UK – is a traditional pub sport where teams take turns spinning a cloth soaked in beer (the ‘dwile’) at their opponents. The aim is to hit opponents with the wet cloth, but points are awarded based on how well the dwile is thrown.

• Teams take turns spinning a beer-soaked cloth at each other.
• The game’s rules are notoriously difficult to follow.
• It’s typically played at festivals and pub events.