peaty smell, which I'm sure is very good for the skin

September 12, 2023 11:19 AM

Dark, smelly and 'completely bonkers': Welcome to the world of bog snorkeling [CBC]
posted by readinghippo (12 comments total)

I've gone snorkeling in a peat bog too, only that bog is called Laphroaig.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:28 AM on September 12, 2023 [16 favorites]

So I know that people throw themselves down hills and such and I really really love the smell of peat and still this is a beautiful example of how utterly confusing people can be. All that peat in your orifices? Why peat bog snorkeling??

As confusing as the whole scene is to me I really appreciate that for your post title you chose the very most confusing thing. I was reading with growing confusion and that part had me baffled. I still don't understand. Why is the "peaty smell" "good for the skin"? If I simply stand next to the peat bog and smell the peat is it still "good for the skin" or do I have to smell it while I snorkel through it? So confused.

Also the toad hat is everything and that dude should have won best snorkeling wear for sure.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 12:50 PM on September 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

+1 for Bog Snorkelling Barbie & Kenough
posted by chavenet at 1:01 PM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rutter, an art teacher from Bath
oh, get out

Do not confuse the World Bog Snorkelling Championship (35 years strong!) with the Rude Health Bog Triathlon (since 2005).... also held at Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. "The triathlon sees individuals or relay teams of three run for eight miles before swimming a single length of the 60-yard peat bog trench. They then force their tired limbs on a 12-mile mountain bike ride."
Are they trying to find bog mummies, or create them?
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:47 PM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

What I appreciate most about this is the fact that even the reigning world champion only indulges in this madness once a year. It's not a hobby or "sport," but rather a sort of uncomfortable challenge that he repeats once every 365 days specifically because "it's a bit mad."
posted by asnider at 1:52 PM on September 12, 2023

Am I missing the connection with bees in this post? Please help!
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:13 PM on September 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

Given the current UK sewerage situation, this may be the cleanest open water in which to snorkel on the whole island.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:21 PM on September 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

"Bog snorkeling" has got to be a euphemism for something raunchyfun.
posted by pmbuko at 3:01 PM on September 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

On the plus side the last place finishers will be found and be great for archeology thousands of years from now.
posted by srboisvert at 5:57 PM on September 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

"Bog snorkeling" has got to be a euphemism for something raunchyfun.

Oh, it isn't that type of bog.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:39 PM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I had a great time one Boxing Day in Maldon, Essex (known for its brand of sea salt) watching the Mud Race, in which hundreds of people run across the river flat of the Blackwater at low tide, and back. It's only a few hundred metres, but it takes up to an hour for everyone to finish. Similar "mad" energy about the whole thing.
Maldon Mud Race
posted by illongruci at 1:07 AM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

When you get back, you can sit down to a lovely tea of Mr. Brains Fagots and hot buttered bog rolls!
posted by Goofyy at 12:14 PM on September 14, 2023