Yet that is exactly what many of us face at times from December to March: mud all over the lawn, mud that we track into the house, mud that gets all over your dog if you're a dog owner.

On a beach in Dorset, where the earthy hillside merges with a small stream, I spot a young boy playing quite at peace, covered top-to-toe in mud. As the wet dirt dribbles through his fingers, he’s the ...