Shake off the Christmas Day sloth with raft racing, barrel rolling or a dip in the mud TENBY BOXING DAY SWIM, DYFED, WALES Now in its 29th year, the Tenby Boxing Day Swim is the highlight of the town’s Christmas calendar, with some 600 swimmers and thousands of onlookers flocking to the town’s beach. Most swimmers are in fancy dress – this year the theme is “seasonal songs” – and there are raft and canoe races and a blazing bonfire to warm up freezing swimmers after their dip. The charity event takes place on the North Beach, and the swim itself is at 11.30am. • tenbyboxingdayswim.co.uk THE KEYNSHAM MUMMERS, SOMERSET Every Boxing Day the streets of sleepy Keynsham, between Bristol and Bath, take on a dramatic air with the Keynsham Mummers Play, which has been performed in the town since the beginning of the 19th century. The play was revived in the 70s by the Bristol Morris Men, who produce it each year in full costume. Every performance differs slightly, because the script of the play doesn’t have an ending. It’s performed at 11.30am at the Keynsham Centre and at noon at the New Inn. • bristolmorrismen.co.uk HASLEMERE RUN, SURREY This three-and-a-half-mile fun run is made more, well, fun by the provision of a pint of winter ale for each runner two miles into the race. There are non-alcoholic men’s and ladies’ races as well, and runners can sign up on the morning – from 10am, with the race beginning at 11am. The non-alcoholic run costs £7, or £8 including a pint – with money going towards the Holy Cross Hospital in Haslemere. The run begins at the Crown & Cushion pub on Wey Hill. • download a registration form from boxingdayrun.org GRANTCHESTER BARREL ROLLING, CAMBRIDGESHIRE The tradition of Boxing Day barrel rolls dates back to the 60s, but was revived in 2003 and has grown over the past six years. Four teams compete from Grantchester, just outside Cambridge; this is followed by the grandly named “County Championships”, with one team from Grantchester and three from the neighbouring villages of Barton, Coton and Newnham in a relay race up and down the main street. The races start at midday and last around 40 minutes, with prize-giving taking place at the Rupert Brooke pub. • grantchester.info BEACH FOOTBALL, SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE The traditional Comedy Football Match on Scarborough Beach dates back to the late 19th century, when the game was first played as a charity fundraiser for the wives and children of fishermen who went down in a serious storm

Original Source Where to go bonkers on Boxing Day