Cheese Rolling

Festival Location: Coopers Hill, England

Festival Type(s): Bizarre Festivals , Bizarre Sports Events , Traditional Festivals

Festival Photos of Cheese Rolling: gallery 1

Festival Video: Cheese Rolling

Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling

by © Kirsty Henderson 2008

I never expected to spend my May Bank Holiday weekend as a participant in one of Europe's wackiest and most dangerous events, but there I was, perched atop a huge, steep, bumpy hill in Gloucestershire as an entrant in the third race of the day, about to throw myself down after a piece of rolling cheese.

The Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling Festival is held every year on the second May Bank Holiday and has been going for over 100 years. As ridiculous as it may sound, a piece of cheese is hurled down a very steep hill by a master of ceremonies as thousands look on. While many people expect to run in the race, most change their minds once they see the hill. If they're still keen, many more will back out after witnessing the competitors in the first race fall head over heel down the hill to be carried off by one of the many paramedics waiting at the bottom.

The event was actually cancelled for the first time in 2003 because the St. John's Ambulance team who were to attend for insurance reasons were unable to due to earthquakes in Angola and Peru around the same time. The same people providing emergency services in major catastrophes around the world were to be stationed at the bottom of Cooper's Hill to cart away the injured. This should give a bit of an indication of what you're in for!

At the beginning of the day as I waited for the 7am bus to pick us up, I had very little intention of running in the event. I had looked on the internet and seen some photos of the hill and, as I'm not an adreneline junkie or a crazy person, I was content to sit on the sidelines. Our ride up was organised by a friend who'd hired a few buses and turned them into mobile drinking competitions and after a few ciders things were beginning to change and I was starting to feel a lot braver.

Upon arrival we hitched a ride on the back of someone's pickup truck to the end of the road. We hadn't been able to see the hill yet from the road, but as we jumped off the truck, there it was rising high above us! People has lined the sides of the hill and there was a bit of a viewing area at the bottom as well. I began the difficult climb to the top, almost positive that if I were to lose my footing, I'd tumble to certain death.

After a lot of trouble and nettle stings, I found myself at the top looking down. Eventually I found my friends and settled into a good spot to watch the first few races, as the ladies race was third and not for an hour or two. Every now and then someone would run down the hill unofficially, but we had to wait about 40 minutes for the real action to begin.

After a lot of anticipation and patience, the first racers were perched on the top of the hill with the master of ceremonies in his top hat and white coat ready to release the cheese. The race begins with him declaring 'One, ... two, ... three, ... and four...' before releasing the 7 pound cheese wheel and allowing the competitors to throw themselves foolishly down the hill. I didn't expect there to be such carnage! Bodies were flying everywhere, head first, sideways, rolling uncontrollably! Some were taking things slower but those that wanted to win were really taking their life into their hands! The first race resulted in a few minor injuries and a few people were carted off by ambulance.

Children aren't allowed to race, but every now and then, boys would run down between races in protest. There are a few uphill races, one for boys under 12 and one for girls. These were quite slow going, but entertaining as well!

A bit later on it was time for the lady's race. I had handed off my backpack and sunglasses and made my way back to the top of the hill to be joined by my fellow racers. I was shocked to see that there were only six of us in total, three from my booze bus which was probably no coincidence! I found myself sitting next to a fellow Canadian and we promptly busted into a noisy rendition of O'Canada and then attempted to start the wave to no avail.

We all decided that the best strategy for getting to the bottom alive was a slow descent on our bums. That was my plan... there would be no running or jumping of any kind - not on purpose anyways! The cheese was soon released and we slid and rolled our way after it. Within about 2 seconds I had injured my wrist and was eating everyone else's dust as I struggled to get down without further injury. The adreneline rush was swapped with survival instincts and I slowed down to a wimpy crawl and was left on the hill all on my own while the rest celebrated at the bottom. I'm not sure if the crowd were cheering me on or yelling at me to hurry the hell up, but I was soon saved as the winner of the race came back up the hill to my rescue and helped me down.

I have to say that entering this event was probably one of the dumber things I've ever done in my life, but the sprained wrist I suffered in the process was worth it! The nurses in the medical tent were really nice and the locals I got chatting to were as well. It was without a doubt a great way to spend a sunny day in May! I won't be in any rush to do it again, but I won't soon forget Cooper's Hill and I'm glad I did it!

Check out Kirsty's great site at travoholic.com for more of her writing, photography, tips and info on hostels, working abroad and getting around.

by Kirsty Henderson

Festival Photos of Cheese Rolling: gallery 1

Cheese Rolling Dates and Location

The Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll is held on the last weekend in May each year Between Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham in the Cotswolds.

Accommodation

Hotels in United Kingdom

Cheese Rolling Video

Possibly the strangest pagan frolic ever to grace your monitor. High-in-calcium craziness as contestants chase a chunk of cheese down a riduculous slope. Check out this vid of cheese rolling from the Coopers Hill Cheese Roll in Gloucestershire, England's home of silly.