Gloucestershire’s Cooper Hill has been host to the traditional cheese rolling event since the 1800s, but health and safety concerns meant the event was officially cancelled in 2010.
Since then however, triumphant spectators and loyal competitors have continued to descend on Cooper’s Hill, determined to keep this world-famous tradition alive .
We set off to climb up and up the hill towards Coopers Hill.
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.
Considered one of the 7 of the world’s most bizarre ‘Feats of Strength’ events. Each May, thousands will gather around Cooper’s Hill in the south west region of England known as Gloucestershire. The hill itself isn’t what brings tourists from around the world, rather the athletes who attempt to conquer it.
Upwards of 40 contests annually attempt to chase a rolling cheese wheel down the hill for what may be the strangest competition in the history of mankind. However, the rich tradition dates back several hundred years validating the race as a world-famous event. The legacy lives on without a conclusive origin, yet many attest that it spawned during the early 1800s to celebrate the turn of winter and a fresh batch of crops.
At the very top of the hill, the master of Ceremonies will release a nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese which can take on speeds of over 70 miles an hour. The first runner to get to the bottom of the hill wins the contest and a whole lot of cheese, literally. Unfortunately, the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling event is by no means a safe competition. If you decide you are crazy enough to compete, make sure you don’t bruise or cry easily. Dozens are injured every year as contestants attempting to make it down the hill are often hospitalized.
“Even spectators have been impaled after being hit by the wheel of cheese. No one is safe.”
While in reality the cheese can never actually be caught – with a brief headstart it soon reaches breakneck speeds – the race 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, and instead lie in wait for help. St John Ambulance used to be on-hand during official versions of the event, before it was cancelled.
The highest injury toll in recent years occurred in 1997 when 33 competitors were treated for everything from splinters to broken bones, and in 2005 races were delayed as ambulances delivered victims to the local hospital before returning to wait for the next batch of casualties.
