Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling

Gloucestershire’s Cooper’s Hill has played host to the traditional Cheese Rolling event since the 1800s, with thousands of spectators and daring competitors descending on Cooper’s Hill, determined to keep this world-famous tradition alive.

While the Cheese Rolling usually takes place on the late May bank holiday Monday each year, due to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, this year’s event is due to take place on Sunday 5 June 2022 instead – according to the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll Facebook page.

The slope on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, the setting for the world-famous event, is in fact so steep that very few contestants manage to stay on their feet, instead tumbling head-over-heels down the hill in a desperate effort to catch the coveted dairy prize – a weighty 8lb Double Gloucester.

While the cheese can never actually be caught – with a brief head start, it soon reaches breakneck speeds – the Cheese Rolling winner is the first person to cross the line at the bottom of the hill.

Some contenders sadly don’t make it all the way down though, with the highest injury toll in recent years occurring in 1997 when 33 competitors were treated for everything from splinters to broken bones!

Brave competitors hoping to chase the cheese this year can head to the top of Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth on Sunday 5 June 2022 from 12pm to take part in the event – with downhill races for men and women and one uphill race for children on the day.

From world-famous antics such as the Cheese Rolling to more quietly quirky county traditions, see 11 of the craziest events in Gloucestershire.

© SoGlos
Wednesday 09 March 2022