Don't get depressed by the end of Olympic activities on August 12th. As the Paralympic Games run from August 29- September 9, 2012, that leaves just enough time to fit in these ten great active events throughout the rest of the country.

Best news is that even if you are not in the UK this year, these will most likely be on again in 2013.

Kettlewell scarecrow festival

What started of as a one-off fundraising effort in 1998 is now an annual event which see the village of Kettlewell come to life with scarecrows. Well over a hundred scarecrows are made and exhibited by the village residents throughout the festival with prizes awarded for the best. There are both traditional looking models and those based on popular TV characters with some trails and treasure hunts thrown in for fun part. More details ..

11-19 August 2012, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.

International Worthing Birdman

The Birdman is a flight competition for human-powered flying machines held each summer in the picturesque seaside resort of Worthing on England's south coast. Many flyers take part to raise money for charities; others design complex machines to aim for the distance prizes. A substantial prize of £30,000 is offered for the furthest flight in excess of the challenge distance of 100 metres. The event attracts contestants from all over the world. The Birdman competition started in 1971 along the coast in Selsey and then spent 29 years in Bognor Regis before relocating to Worthing in 2008. More details.

18-19 August 2012. Worthing Pier, West Sussex.

Race the train

Race the Train event is a popular contest between man and machine. The race takes place alongside, as far as practicable, the route taken by the Talyllyn Railway on its journey to Abergynolwyn and back. In order to do this, all courses use a mixture of public roads, lanes, unmetalled roads, tracks, agricultural land, and rough grazing pastures. In the case of the Main Races (approximately 14.75 miles long) and 10km races, the route is much tougher as it crosses the faces of the hillsides, ascends and descends quite steep terrain and runs on narrow footpaths with little chance of overtaking. The terrain varies all the time and can be very wet and muddy in places, the routes also involve some steep hills. Often the train, or for many runners the track, is just over the fence and in many places if you coincide with the train any family or friends on the train will be able to shout encouragement. More details.

18 August 2012, Talyllyn Railway, Tywyn, Wales.

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Isle of Wight garlic festival

Garlic ice cream, jelly beans, fudge and beer are just some of the unusual garlic-based produce that can be sampled at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival in Newchurch. The Garlic Marquee features the Isle of Wight's 'Golden Clove' including the popular oak-smoked variety. There are over 250 stalls and many tempting garlic-flavoured products for visitors to try including banana and garlic, and rhubarb and garlic pickles and chutneys, garlic mussels and other seafood, sausages and bread. The festival attracts 25,000 people and is a two-day event organised by the Newchurch Parish Sports and Community Association. The idea for the festival came about after a visit to the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California and as garlic is grown locally in Newchurch, it was felt a festival to celebrate the garlic harvest was an innovative idea. More details.

18-19 August 2012, Newchurch, Isle of Wight.

Victorian festival

This popular festival is going from strength to strength. As Llandrindod was a thriving spa resort in the Victorian era it seemed natural to base the festival on the Victorian theme. Horses and carriages, Victorian window displays, townspeople and some visitors sporting a whole range of appropriate costumes help to create an atmosphere, the effect of which is nothing short of miraculous. At the end of the nine days, the proceedings are closed in the grandest of manners with the moving torchlight procession and fireworks display over the lake - a spectacle not to be missed.More details.

August 18-26, 2012, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales.

World toe wrestling championship

Going way back to 1976, the World Toe Wrestling Championship started at a pub in Wetton, Derbyshire UK. The locals of 'Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn' thought it would be a great idea to hold a toe wrestling competition, where the contestants lock their big toes together, and attempt to force their opponent's foot to the ground. The organisers have big intentions for the sport, and applied in 1997 for its inclusion in the Olympic Games. Unfortunately for crazy sports fans it was not accepted. ?The Bentley Brook Inn in Derbyshire hosts the Ben & Jerry's World Toe Wrestling Championship - a feast of foot foolery, bad wrestling outfits and toe-riffically treacherous puns. All proceeds from the event go to the Derbyshire charity When You Wish Upon a Star. More details.

25 August 2012, Bentley Brook Inn, Fenny Bentley, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Grasmere Lakeland sports and show

Grasmere hosts the largest of the traditionalLakeland sport meetings, featuring Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, hound trails (where trained hounds race after the scent of aniseed over the fells), mountain-bike races and fell races, including the English Hill Championship. There are also events, trade, crafts and antiques stands, refreshments and stalls. More details.

26 August 2012 , Show Field, Grasmere, Cumbria.

World bog snorkelling championships

The World Bog Snorkelling Championships is an international sporting event which takes place annually on August Bank Holiday Monday in Waen Rhydd peat bog on the outskirts of the smallest town in Britain - Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, Mid Wales. The aim of the championships is to swim two lengths (about 115 metres) of a peaty, murky trench, which has been dug out of the Waen Rhydd peat bog, in the quickest time possible. Competitors wear snorkels and flippers. Wet suits are optional but strongly recommended. Snorkelling across the smelly and dirty bog is popular with hardy individuals from all over the world. Competitors come from as far afield as Australia, America and Europe as well as from Britain for the pleasure of taking part. The snorkeller with the fastest time wins a small cash prize. Organised by 'Green Events', the novel event was originally thought up by a local pub landlord Gordon Green in 1986 in a bid to boost tourism to the area. More details.

27 August 2012, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales.

The world gravy wrestling championships

This saucy event takes places as part of the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture and celebrates its 5th anniversary in 2012. The Gravy Wrestling takes place on the second Bank Holiday Monday in August. The teams competing for the title slip and slide about in luke-warm gravy. Team members win points for pinning the opposition down in the gravy.?This event was started in 2007 and brings out the crowds in force to laugh at the proceedings, while TV cameras and the press often record the event for audiences all over the world from Australia to America and Europe to the Far East. The winners will receive the glittering trophy and wallow in fame - if not fortune. More details ..

27 August 2012, The Rose & Bowl Inn, Bacup, Rossendale, Lancashire.

Football in the river

This event sees two teams of six from Bourton Rovers Football Club play a 30 minute football match in the usually calm waters of the River Windrush. Goalposts are set up in the river and players attempt to score as many goals as possible, whilst getting all spectators as wet as possible in the process. This event has been taking place for over 100 years and attracts hundreds of spectators. More details ..

27 August 2012,The River Windrush, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cotswolds, Gloucestershire.