Winning tip: Swim with the Grinch, Westward Ho!

What better way to shake off indulgences of New Year’s Eve than donning your Santa suit and having a little dip in the ocean. Westward Ho! hosts a fun-filled New Year’s Day event where swimmers dress in a Christmas theme. We’ve swum with elves, reindeer and grinches. We had a pre-dip warm-up with Woolly the Hilarious Sheep before embarking on a short swim from the stunning beach. There are no wetsuits allowed but the plentiful hot chocolate on your return will soon have you warmed up. There’s live music and lots of cheering spectators and this event, in its third year, is a wonderful way to spend New Year’s Day.
• visitwestwardho.co.uk
Lisa Anderson

Brownlees win again, West Yorkshire

Gear up for New Year’s Eve by taking on Alistair Brownlee in the Auld Lang Syne Fell Race, held at 11.30am. Starting from Penistone country park, near Haworth, the 6.7-mile route covers 300 metres of ascent across Yorkshire moorland. Before that, join the crowd cheering on runners including Alistair’s brother, Jonny (who usually wins) at the equally challenging seven-mile circuit of Otley Chevin on Boxing Day. It’s too late to enter the Chevin race now but it’s worth joining the happy, cheering throng as various frontrunners try (and fail) to overtake local Olympian Jonny Brownlee, while tailenders run off Christmas Day excesses.
• Auld Lang Syne race entry £7, pre-entry only with limit of 400 runners, wharfedaleharriers.co.uk
Diane Kitchen

Mass football, Kirkwall, Orkney

The Ba’ is a traditional game of football played in the streets of Kirkwall between the town’s two sides – the Uppies and the Doonies – on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. You have to be from Kirkwall to take part but hundreds of people watch, following the ruck, or just drinking in the pubs. To win, the Uppies, those supposedly born south of the cathedral, have to touch a wall in the southern part of town with the ba’ (a cork-filled leather ball) while the Doonies (born to the north of the church) have to hurl or kick the ba’ into Kirkwall Bay, to the north. The rules are loose to say the least and barricades are erected to protect property. It wouldn’t work in London.
• bagame.com and on Facebook
Laura

Chilly dip, Pembrokeshire

Enthusiasm and a bit of eccentricity are essential to participate in the New Year’s Day swim at Saundersfoot, in Tenby Bay. Not only does it involve throwing yourself into the chilly waters but you must also do so in fancy dress: great fun. To encourage and help participants (more than 2,000 last year, who raised money for charity, but thousands more watching), there’s a mass warm-up on the beach beforehand and a vast warming vat of mulled wine for afterwards. Anyone can join in and this entertaining event, with fancy dress prizes and celebrity involvement, is now in its 36th year. There’s a mascot too: Charlie Shivers.
• saundersfootnyds.co.uk
Nick

Splash with flappers, Gwynedd

The annual RNLI New Year’s Day swim at Abersoch beach on the Llŷn peninsula is as much fun for the spectators as the participants, because of the imaginative costumes on display. This year’s theme is the Roaring Twenties. All will be rewarded with a hog roast and mulled wine at the Cove Restaurant, after hot showers in the adjacent South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. Sponsorship forms, to raise funds for the local lifeboat, are available to download at abersoch.co.uk or can be collected at various locations including a tent on the beach on the day.
Rob

Wallow in West Bay, Dorset

At noon on Boxing Day around 100 people enter the icy waters by running down the slipway at this lovely harbour town. Afterwards, you can visit one of the pretty wooden chalet food and drink outlets lining the harbour and, you might spot a few familiar sights – the ITV series Broadchurch is filmed around the town, cliffs and beach. Register to take part from 10.30am on the day and raise money for a charity of your choice. There are prizes for best fancy dress. Arrive in good time as this popular event attracts thousands of spectators, somewhat outnumbering the number of hardy souls up for the swim.
• bridportroundtable.co.uk
Karen Collins

Moor fancy dress, Lancashire

It should be pretty daunting to stand at the foot of a huge fell on Boxing Day morning, after a day of excess. However, the mood is jovial as a whole host of characters – from Freddie Mercury to Where’s Wally – get ready to take on the Whinberry Naze Dash fell race. Santa waits at the trig point with a tube of Smarties for every runner. No wonder the sheep in the adjoining fields seem a bit hyper! Starting time is 11.30am and registration is at Marl Pits Sports Centre in Rawtenstall, from where the race gets going.
• £4, rossendaleharriers.co.uk
Heather

Wassail away, Gloucestershire

Just when you thought it was all over, up pops the Stroud Wassail on 11 January, celebrating the ancient West Country tradition of singing to apple trees in the hope of a good harvest later in the year – so, yes, cider is an important part of proceedings. It’s easy to join in by signing up for a singing or dancing workshop. If not, join the visitors in the cafes and pubs and watch as dancers, mummers (folk actors) and musicians fill the streets all day long, with a midday cavalcade of extraordinary beasts at the Wassail ceremony at 1pm among the highlights of the mayhem. If you aren’t exhausted by 7pm, attend the Revels in the Subscription Rooms featuring a Ceildh, Indian classical, can-can Morris and bhangra dancing, storytelling and a finale with singer/songwriter Johnny Coppin. It’s all to wish your fellows good health for the coming year and to have some midwinter fun! There’s also a wassail at Glastonbury Tor on 19 January.
• Performers’ registration 10am, 11 Jan, stroudwassail.com
Cindy Jefferies

Beat the fat on the flat, Cheshire

The Northwich Boxing Day 5k run is a flat, traffic-free course in Neumann’s Flashes, a section of the beautiful Northwich Woodlands, and is guaranteed to work off that Christmas pud and brandy butter. Entry costs £13 with proceeds going to the Cheshire Down’s Syndrome Group. There’ll be festive-themed medals and refreshments for all, and cash prizes for the winners. But take note, it’s for the early birds: a 9.30am start.
• Entry £13, Starts at Marbury Lane, runcheshire.niftyentries.com
Phil

Christmas swimming sessions, Arundel, West Sussex

A bracing festive swim beneath Arundel’s stunning medieval castle will quieten the soul and numb the extremities. It’s a stark contrast with festive excess but a good way of putting yourself in mind to rid yourself of the inevitable irritations of being holed up with the family for such an extended time! Not that the lido is short of Christmas cheer … swimmers in Santa hats are fully encouraged and mulled wine and hot drinks provide any additional moral support needed.
• £5 (£2.50 child), open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, arundel-lido.com
Crimson Trebar

Looking for a holiday with a difference? Browse Guardian Holidays to see a range of fantastic trips