Quick answer
Llanwrtyd Wells, about eight miles from Graig Fawr, runs a year-round programme of unusual events organised by Green Events: Man v Horse in June, the World Bog Snorkelling Championships on August Bank Holiday, the Real Ale Wobble and Mid Wales Beer Festival in November, and a torchlit Mari Lwyd walk on New Year’s Eve.
Llanwrtyd Wells is a very small town with a very large reputation. In a typical year it hosts a race between runners and horses over the hills, a championship for people swimming through a peat bog in flippers, a mountain-bike ride with beer at the checkpoints and a torchlit walk to see in the New Year. If you are planning a holiday in Mid Wales, Llanwrtyd Wells events are one of the most entertaining reasons to fix your dates.
Llanwrtyd is about eight miles from Graig Fawr, our holiday cottage on a conservation farm near Beulah. This guide runs through the main events month by month, what each one is actually like for spectators, and how to plan a short break or longer holiday around them.
Why a small Welsh town became the home of wacky events
In the 19th century Llanwrtyd Wells was a spa town, drawing visitors to its mineral springs. By the late 20th century the spas had long gone, and the town needed a new reason for people to visit.
It found one in a pub argument. In 1980 Gordon Green, landlord of the Neuadd Arms, overheard two customers debating whether a person could match a horse over a long distance across rough country. He decided to settle it in public, and the Man versus Horse race was born. Green went on to start the bog snorkelling a few years later, and the town has built an international reputation for unusual challenges ever since. Locals like to say Llanwrtyd is the smallest town in Britain; it is certainly one of the most inventive.
Today the programme is run by Green Events, and the details below are from its 2026 calendar. Dates for 2027 had not been announced when we wrote this, so treat the months as a reliable guide and confirm exact dates on green-events.co.uk before you book a holiday around any of them.
Llanwrtyd Wells events through the year
| Event | When (2026 dates) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Man versus Horse | Saturday 13 June | Runners race riders on horseback over roughly 21 miles of road, track and open hill |
| Drovers Walks | 20 June | Walks along routes used by the drovers who once moved livestock across Wales |
| Summer Cider Cycle | 15 August | Waymarked bike rides for all standards, with cider rather than ale |
| MTB Chariot Racing | 15 August | Teams of three: one charioteer, two mountain bikers in place of horses |
| Bogathlon | 29 August | A mini triathlon of bog swim, cross-country cycle and wet run, for over-14s |
| World Bog Snorkelling Championships | 30 August (August Bank Holiday weekend) | Two lengths of a 60-yard trench cut through a peat bog, flippers only |
| Mid Wales Four Day Walking Festival | 16–19 September | Guided walks of varying length in the hills around the town |
| Ron Skilton Memorial Half Marathon and 12k | 18 October | A notoriously hilly half marathon and shorter 12k, raising money for MND research |
| Mid Wales Beer Festival | 13–22 November | Ten days of real ale in the town |
| Real Ale Wobble | 14 November | Mountain-bike rides with beer tokens at the checkpoints |
| Real Ale Ramble | 21–22 November | Walks of different distances, with ale stops |
| Mari Lwyd Walk | 31 December | A torchlit New Year’s Eve walk with a samba band |
Man versus Horse: June
This is the event that started it all. Runners and riders set off from the town centre and race over roughly 21 miles of road, forest track and open mountain. For most of its history the horses won, but not always. In 2004 Huw Lobb became the first runner to beat every horse, and runners have since come out on top again, most recently in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Entries for competitors fill up, but spectators are welcome, and the organisers set up a mid-race viewing area so you can see the field come through out on the hill as well as at the start and finish. In 2026 the race started at 11am. Bring proper footwear and waterproofs even in June; this is upland Wales.
June is also one of the best months for wildlife around Graig Fawr, with the meadow filling out and red kites, buzzards and swallows over the land, so a Man v Horse weekend makes an easy weekend break.
Bog snorkelling and the August Bank Holiday weekend
The World Bog Snorkelling Championships are what most people have heard of. Competitors wear a snorkel, mask and flippers, and swim two lengths of a 60-yard trench cut through the Waen Rhydd peat bog just outside town, 120 yards in all. Conventional swimming strokes are not allowed; you move with your flippers alone. Wetsuits are optional, fancy dress is common, and the water is as dark and cold as you would expect.
The 2026 championships, on Sunday 30 August, were billed as the 40th. They sit inside a full bank holiday weekend: Bogfest brings live music to the town and the Bogfield from the Saturday afternoon, and the Bogathlon takes place on the Saturday. Earlier in August, the Summer Cider Cycle and MTB chariot racing fill another weekend.
Watching is free-flowing and good-humoured. Taking part means entering in advance through Green Events. Either way, this is the busiest weekend of the year in Llanwrtyd, so if you want a holiday let nearby, book well ahead.
Book direct and save
Book directly with the hosts — send a brief enquiry with your dates and they will come back to you with them confirmed. Direct rates start at £130 a night for a short break, or £105 a night for a week or more, and there are no booking fees. Prefer to see a live calendar first? Graig Fawr is on Airbnb too.
Walking festivals and autumn events
Not everything in Llanwrtyd is about getting muddy for fun. The Drovers Walks in June and the Mid Wales Four Day Walking Festival in September are a good way into the hills around the town with company and local knowledge. The country west of Llanwrtyd, through the Abergwesyn valley and up the Devil’s Staircase, is some of the wildest in Mid Wales.
If you prefer to explore on your own, our guides to walking holidays in the Cambrian Mountains and autumn scenic drives including the Devil’s Staircase cover the area in more detail.
In October the Ron Skilton Memorial Half Marathon and 12k take runners over the same hills. Runners have called it possibly the toughest half marathon in the country, and profits go to motor neurone disease research.
November: the Mid Wales Beer Festival and the Real Ale Wobble
November is a good month for an autumn holiday in Mid Wales, with the colour still in the trees and redwings and fieldfares arriving over the fields. In Llanwrtyd it is also beer month.
The Mid Wales Beer Festival runs in the town for ten days. In the middle of it comes the Real Ale Wobble, a mountain-bike event on marked courses for serious and casual riders, where you collect locally brewed ale with beer tokens at the end (non-alcoholic beer is offered at the checkpoint). The following weekend the Real Ale Ramble does the same on foot, over a choice of distances. The Summer Cider Cycle in August began in 2013 as the organisers’ answer for Wobble fans who did not like real ale.
If you are driving to a holiday cottage afterwards, plan who is driving before you start. The lanes between Llanwrtyd and Beulah are dark and narrow at night.
New Year’s Eve: the Mari Lwyd Walk
The year ends with a torchlit Mari Lwyd walk on New Year’s Eve. The Mari Lwyd is an old Welsh midwinter custom built around a horse’s skull carried on a pole and draped in a sheet; in Llanwrtyd it leads a torchlit walk through the town to see in the New Year, with a samba band before and after. In 2026 the walk sets off at 10pm on 31 December. Check the start point with Green Events nearer the time.
It pairs well with a quiet few days in the hills either side. Our guide to a quiet New Year short break in Mid Wales covers the rest of the week.
Planning a holiday around Llanwrtyd Wells events
- Confirm dates first. Green Events publishes each year’s programme on green-events.co.uk. Do not rely on last year’s dates.
- Book early for the big weekends. Man v Horse and the August Bank Holiday weekend fill the town. A holiday cottage a few miles away is often easier to find.
- Bring kit for the weather. Waterproofs and boots, in every month.
- Plan the drive home. Llanwrtyd has pubs and small-town services, but the roads out are rural and unlit.
- Make a holiday of it. One event day plus a couple of days walking, watching red kites or visiting the Elan Valley makes for a much better trip than a single afternoon.
For eating out, the Drovers Rest and the Neuadd Arms in Llanwrtyd sit alongside the pubs and cafés nearer us in our guide to places to eat near Graig Fawr.
Why Graig Fawr suits an events holiday in Llanwrtyd Wells
Graig Fawr is a single-storey stone barn holiday cottage for two on our 40-acre conservation farm near Beulah, about eight miles from Llanwrtyd Wells. You get the events and the pubs within a short drive, and come home to complete quiet: a private patio over the wildlife pond, mown trails across the meadow and woodland, and dark skies with no light pollution.
- Somewhere to dry off: a walk-in shower, a washer-dryer and a warm barn, with underfloor heating throughout run from air source heat pumps and solar panels.
- A full kitchen for long breakfasts before an event and simple suppers after.
- Dog-friendly: up to two well-behaved dogs welcome at no extra charge.
- Flexible arrival by self check-in from 3pm, and off-road parking for two cars.
Graig Fawr takes a short break of two nights or more (three in July and August) up to a holiday let of 28 nights. Booked direct, a short break is £130 a night and a week or more is £105 a night, with no booking fees. Check the Graig Fawr page for current rates. The honest limitations: you will need a car, there is no hot tub, and outdoor mobile signal can be patchy, though the indoor wifi is reliable.
Related reading: Rainy day things to do near Builth Wells · A walkers’ and cyclists’ base camp in the Cambrian Mountains · Seasons at Graig Fawr
Plan Your Holiday Near Llanwrtyd Wells
If you fancy watching runners take on horses, cheering on bog snorkellers or walking in the New Year by torchlight, and then coming back to a quiet barn in the hills, we would love to have you. Check availability for Graig Fawr on Airbnb, or email us at paul@wildahome.co.uk to book direct with no booking fees on top.