Unusual UK events in January.

January opens with people cheerfully heading into cold water, then finds other ingenious ways to fill the winter. Saundersfoot’s New Year’s Day Swim and South Queensferry’s Loony Dook are festive gatherings with very different practical arrangements. You can join in the fun without taking the plunge: cheering a costumed friend from dry land is a proper part of the day. Open the relevant guide before choosing, particularly where the next programme or entry conditions are still to be announced.

There's plenty going on away from the shore. Haxey’s Hood brings a local game and its loyalties into the streets, Whittlesey dresses its bear in straw, and Goathland’s Plough Stots take a longsword dance around their home village. These are separate occasions, not one winter custom in different costumes. Think about whether you'd enjoy following a moving performance, watching a contest unfold or soaking up the dancing and music around a festival.

Wassailing and the Mari Lwyd weave another thread through the month. Carhampton’s orchard gathering, Chepstow’s programme and Llangynwyd’s grey mare each tie a particular place to its winter custom. For fire, look to Burghead’s Burning of the Clavie or Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa. They may share a slot in the winter calendar, but their entry, spectator and participation arrangements are quite different. Read up on the actual event rather than assuming a general fire-festival plan will fit.

The map below covers some very different journeys, so start with the one occasion you really want to see. Confirm its date and current travel arrangements, then give the host town or village some time of its own. A future edition with only a usual date still needs checking before you book anything firm. For the outdoor events, pick the parts of the programme your group will enjoy comfortably, with a proper plan for food and the journey home. January has oddness enough without turning the whole month into an endurance contest.