THE BOG SNORKELLERS

Cool, crisp air whistles through rustling woodland. Ripples fan out across the water of Lenches Lake. We’re in Evesham for a bog snorkellers’ training session. Julia, Neil, Lisa, Miranda, Louise and Shawn are all regulars at the bog snorkelling World Championships. Some have smashed world records. Others are renowned for their elaborate cardboard costumes. All of them dive bog-wards with enthusiasm. And a love for the muddy unknown.

Let’s get right to it. What is bog snorkelling?

Lisa: Bog snorkelling is one of those weird English things that seems to have gone a bit international. It’s sort of up there with cheese-rolling and shin-kicking. You’ve got a peat bog, 55m long, and you have to snorkel to the end post within two minutes. If you do, you get a medal.

Julia: And the World Championships are held in a tiny village in Wales called Llanwrtyd Wells on the August bank holiday.

How did you get into bog snorkelling?

Julia: I was in the hospital following an accident. And I was looking at the Guinness Book of World Records. I saw a guy bog snorkelling. And I said to myself: if I ever walk again, I'm going bog snorkelling. That's what I did. I learned to swim, I learned to walk, I learned to snorkel.

Lisa: It actually came up in conversation around a friend’s 50th. We were looking for something wacky. And I'd always wanted to be a world-champion-something. At the age of 52, my options were quite limited. Until I found bog snorkelling.

Neil: It looked completely nuts. And it totally piqued my curiosity. I love the eccentricity of bank holiday things that exist all over the country. The idea of people splish-splashing down a 55m trench, embracing how utterly insane it was. That really appealed.

Neil: The competitive element. When I first narrowly scraped the win, I was thinking, there must be a world record for this thing. I wonder if I can win again. Maybe break a record. That was enough motivation to keep me coming back for five years.

Shawn: The costume aspect. That's fun. And how warm and welcoming the locals are. There's a real sense of kindness and care there. A really good vibe.

Julia: It changed my life, you know? I’ve been doing it for 26 years. When I saw someone coming out of a bog, that moment changed my life. I’m hoping somebody will see me, a plus-size woman in a wetsuit and say: well, if she can do something, I can do something.

Can you describe the feeling of swimming in a bog?

Neil: The consistency of the bog changes every year. Even in the heat of summer, it’s very, very cold. And you’re breathing at speed through a tiny snorkel aperture. So cold, dark, claustrophobic and really knackering. Roll up, guys!

Louise: Nothing compares to it. It's dark, dingy, cold. There are things in the water. But everyone alongside the bog is cheering you on. Even if they don't know who you are.

Lisa: It's a crazy, uplifting thing that I don’t think people can really imagine. I think you have to be at the event to take in the atmosphere.

Neil: And there’s a cute, intimate quirkiness that really makes it special. A bunch of tents pitched around the bog. Folk music playing. Local ales.

Lisa: Strangers at the event don’t feel like strangers. They’re like friends you haven’t met yet.

What do you wear to the race?

Louise: Every year, Shawn and I make costumes from cardboard. We’ve been Barbie and Ken. A bar of soap and a loofah. It’s part of the novelty for us. We're not in it to win the race. We just love coming up with bonkers costumes.

Louise: That it’s okay to be yourself. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Embrace the weird and wonderful side of everybody.

Lisa: And don’t care about what you look like. Everybody these days is always sucking their stomach in, adding filters and stuff. This is the most raw, unfiltered experience. There's a photograph of me in the Daily Mail with my stomach out, covered in mud, looking an absolute state. And you know what? I do look like that. I’m not a size eight model. When you stop worrying about what other people think of your looks, you will live a much more fulfilling and rich life.

Miranda: Don't take it seriously. Just get on with it. Nobody’s looking. And if they are, it’s in a positive, ‘go-go-go’ way.

Lisa: Absolutely. The most important thing is to laugh. Make new friends. Share common experiences. Just enjoy what’s around.

To see more from our champion bog snorkellers, head to our social channels. And to cheer them on in person, don’t miss the World Championships on 24th August in Llanwrtyd Wells.