The Lowland Games is an annual summer family event held in Thorney which takes place in a field on the Somerset Levels. Last Sunday I was one of the official photographers at the event and witnessed everything from fancy dress raft racing to terrier racing, ferret racing, wife carrying (through mud and sawdust!), the ‘Chunder Challenge,’ and mud wrestling.  All that along with plenty of food, cider, beer and live music, and other entertainment.

It’s the second year I have photographed the Lowland Games and it has proved to be a great event to capture some eye catching images; something a bit different.  I had to be extremely quick to capture the dogs in the terrier races, but my photography experience helped me get some great shots.

Last year the Lowland Games event was unfortunately cancelled due to poor weather, but this is a rarity and thankfully this year the Lowland Games was not hindered by the rain, in fact it was a hot sunny day.  Did you know, the Lowland Games is actually now in its 30th year!

Here are some of my favourite photographs of the Lowland Games from 2016.

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A black labrador dog gets excited by the ferret racing

Dozens of raft teams in fancy dress prepared to put their sailing vessels into the canal.  Most were not very seaworthy and certainly not stable, but that is half the fun, and I don’t think there was a dry person in sight!  If you don’t fall in or get pushed in, you can be sure you’ll get wet via one of many water canons!

Perhaps this was a kind of blues brothers theme.  The plastic drums strapped to a wooden platform is a popular method for quickly creating a raft.  No-one said it would be very stable though!

Staff demonstrate the obstacle courseThere is mud and water to contend with during the obstacle course at The Lowland Games and who knows where that mud will find its way into!

Getting the dogs excited for the terrier racing

Dogs like bullets in the terrier racing

The wife carrying race. First you get wet and covered in mud, then you get dunked in sawdust. Any events that involved dirt, grime and people falling over attracts a good crowd!

Muddy men struggle to see through the mud on their face during the popular mud wrestling. The aim is to get your opponent pinned down on the ground on their back. I think they have to hold them there for a count of three to win the match. Not exactly easy when you your opponent covered in mud is like a slimy fish.

The Chunder Challenge where you are encouraged to eat all sorts of disgusting things. Some things look too disgusting to eat and even spectators find it hard to stomach. It could be a pig’s ear, chicken feet, raw eggs, sheep’s stomach, pig’s trotter or who knows what else?! A bag or bucket is always nearby for this eating contest as some of that disgusting food if you can call it that won’t stay down for long. Puking goes with the territory.