Ready, steady, SLOW!

The stars of the shady undergrowth are preparing for glory as Aylsham’s slowest, silliest and most shell-shocking sporting event returns!

Trainers across the county should now be putting their prized gastropods through their paces. The racetrack has been freshly laundered, conditions are looking good-to-soft, and the coveted Lettuce Pot Trophy is receiving its annual polish.

The starting flag will be raised for the Great Aylsham Snail Race at the Food & Craft Market in Aylsham Market Place on Saturday 1 August.

Organised by Slow Food Aylsham (whose logo is, naturally, a snail), the event features two exciting races:

The Great Snail Sprint (11am) - Open to competitors of all ages, although children generally make the most enthusiastic snail owners! Please arrive by 10.30am to register your racer. Entry is completely free.

Contestants are encouraged to bring their own snails, carefully selected from gardens, hedgerows or damp hiding places beneath stones. Don't worry if your champion is unavailable — reserve snails may be available on race day.

The Business Challenge - Local traders can pit snail against snail in a battle for workplace bragging rights. Entry costs £10 per business, with all sponsorship proceeds going to the North Norfolk Foodbank.

Overseeing proceedings is the legendary Snailmaster, whose duties include maintaining law and order, conducting anti-doping checks, identifying slippery characters, and ensuring the track remains perfectly watered for peak snail performance.

These remarkable racers can reach speeds of around 0.5–0.8 inches per second. At that pace, a determined snail travelling non-stop would take more than a week to cover a single kilometre.

So polish those shells, prepare your fruit and veg-based training regimes, and join us for a day of family fun, friendly rivalry and astonishingly slow sporting action!

How to enter

Simply email slowfoodaylsham@gmail.com with name, age, and contact details of the entrant as well as the name of your snail to be registered.

The Rules

1.     There are no rules. The Snail Master has a very free hand and if he decides, on the spur of the moment, something is against the rules – well, it is!

2.     Giant foreign snails are not allowed. Ordinary garden snails are best. Big snails are impressive but small snails usually move more quickly.

3.     The owner can feed his snails on whatever he likes, but he must return them to the garden after the race.

4.     Snails don’t take a lot of looking after. Don’t choose them too long before the race, and they will look after themselves. However, some people like to feel they are nurturing a snail.

5.     Each snail has a sticker stuck on them so they can be identified. One garden snail looks very much like another.

6.     Entrants can have as many snails as they like but, depending on numbers, only one per heat.

7.     Snails race 13 inches from the centre of a circle to the outside circle on a white cloth on a table which is kept damp for the races. Snails gather in a circle in the middle and are pointed in the right direction. 

8.     Snails are not allowed to hitch rides. Snails will climb on top of each other, and this behaviour is frowned upon and must be stopped.

9.     Snail Master shouts: "Ready, steady, SLOW!" And off dash the snails. 

And don’t miss . . .

Also on this day, the Aylsham Heritage Snail Trail will be opened at 10.30am when the big centrepiece snail is finally unveiled – your first chance to see the sculpture and find out what it is called.

A visiting roadshow will feature Giant African Land Snails and additional bugs of interest brought by Wild Encounters.

And entertainment will be provided by celebrated Norfolk caricature artist, Phil Cole, who can draw quick, captivating sketches of you in five minutes and create a cherished keepsake of the event.