Would You Risk Your Life for a Wheel of Cheese?

Double Gloucester cheese is often enjoyed with wine and crackers, but it can also be enjoyed in a very different way…

Just outside the city of Gloucester, lies the village of Brockworth, a quaint settlement that remains far from the public eye, except for one particular day of the year. Every spring bank holiday the village attracts swathes of people from all around the world, all of them eager to see one thing - the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling competition. The event involves a group of brave individuals throwing themselves down a 45 degree, 200-yard long slope, chasing a round of Double Gloucester cheese.

Here's how it works:

The self-proclaimed ‘Masters of the Ceremony’ kick off the event by shouting: “One to be ready, two to be steady, three to prepare (at which point the cheese is released), and four to be off.” Following that, a four kilo wheel of Gloucester's finest is sent barreling down the hill, with the competitors in hot pursuit. The first person across the finish line is crowned winner, with the cheese as their prize. While this doesn’t sound too difficult on paper, the cheese can reach speeds of up to 70mph - and it has been known to crash into and knock over unfortunate spectators. Multiple races are held during the day, with different rounds of cheese, for both men and women.

The competition, although seemingly trivial, can be pretty dangerous and due to the uneven surface and steepness of Cooper's Hill there are usually a plethora of injuries each year. Fortunately, however, volunteers from the local rugby club act as 'catchers' for any participants who have lost their ‘balance’ (a delicate way of describing a high-speed bundle of limbs). There are also ambulances on hand to deal with any casualties. To date, no one has ever died participating in the race.

The event is rooted in tradition:

The first written record of the competition was found in a message to the Gloucester Town Crier in 1826, but the practice of cheese rolling is thought to have originated in the early 1700s. Some speculate that the race was derives from pagan rituals, where bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter.

How popular is it?

The competition has become so popular that it has gained a global reputation as one of the world's most bizarre sporting events, even featuring on last year's Netflix documentary, ‘We Are The Champions’ narrated by Rainn Wilson. Due to the unofficial nature of the event, there are no strict attendance numbers each year, but it is thought that it has attracted upwards of 15,000 people in the past.

Despite the event being cancelled for the last two years following Covid-19, the unorthodox race is returning this year. For those courageous individuals who have read this and decided they want to go watch it (or dare I say take part), the event takes place on the 25th of May and kicks off at 12 pm.

More details can be found here:

https://radseason.com/event/cheese-rolling-coopers-hill-gloucester-united-kingdom/