Close your eyes and picture the most ridiculous, most outlandish British tradition you could possibly imagine. Some ancient tradition with roots over 600 years old. Have you pictured something absolutely so ridiculous that surely there’s no way it exists? Enter: Cheese Rolling.
Every May Bank Holiday, dozens of the worlds bravest thrill seekers descend on a small town in Gloucestershire in the South West of England to essentially throw themselves down one of the steepest hills in the country. Breaking bones and generally risking major injury on live national TV, all to win a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. And hundreds of people come and watch.
Despite only growing up on the other side of the Severn Bridge and also spending six years living in Bristol, I had never been to the festival. Instead I watched it online and thought “Wow, I should definitely go next year”. Every year. But this year, my friends decided that they were finally going to make the trip and invited me along to watch.
What is Cheese Rolling?
The origins of this extreme sport are unclear. The first written reference to the event, “officially” titled Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, is from 1836, but most people agree is was already a regular occurrence by then. Some theories date it a few years further back, some much older. One school of thought is that it dates back to the Roman occupation of Britain. Makes sense, given that nearby Gloucester was first established as a Roman fort.
The reality is, we’ll never know why, when or how it started. The original reference was a declaration for the town crier of Gloucester, describing what was called the Cooper’s Hill Wake. This was believed to be a midsummer day of celebration including folk music and dancing, traditional games like sack racing and, of course, cheese rolling. To this day, the day begins with the Gloucester town crier reading the declaration, along with traditional music and maypole dancing and general folk fun before the races begin.
It is believed that the cheese has been rolled every year since 1836,
However, there are a few notable exceptions. During the First World War, to comply with rationing introduced in 1917, they rolled a wooden block instead of a cheese. The wooden block was used right up until 1949, though rumour has it that there was a bit of cheese inside the wood. For traditions sake.
In 2013, a foam cheese was rolled to try and make the event safer. Of course, this led to organisers remembering that the cheese isn’t the dangerous part of throwing yourself down a 50% gradient hill. The real cheese returned the following year.
And in 2020 and 2021, the event was cancelled due to the laws in England prohibiting mass gatherings. Despite this, locals still climbed Cooper’s Hill and rolled the cheese to ensure the tradition wasn’t broken.
So what exactly is cheese rolling?
It’s pretty much what the name suggests. A wheel of Double Gloucester is rolled down Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, in Gloucestershire, and people run down after it. Whoever reaches the bottom first wins the cheese. Then everyone goes home.
Just kidding. There’s a bit more to it, obviously. There are four downhill races and several uphill races. The downhill races (three mens races and one women’s race) are the real draw. The cheese gets a head start and can reach up to 80mph. Then, the racers start their descent. The idea is to get to the bottom as fast as possible. For the majority of participants this means taking a few strides upright before succumbing to gravity and rag dolling the rest of the way down like a character from a 2010s video game. Whoever reaches the bottom first, wins the wheel of cheese.
In the past, winners have often donated the cheese, usually valued at roughly £75 (about $100) to charity. I imagine this is mostly out of generosity. But it is probably also partly due to the fact that participants often come from abroad and there are quite strict rules on taking dairy products in and out of the UK.
The uphill races are a bit less adrenaline-pumping but no less challenging. These are pretty much races to the top of the hill, and these are open to children as well. The winner of these races, I believe, also wins a wheel of cheese.
Getting there
The event is held every late May Bank Holiday (usually the last full weekend of May) at Cooper’s Hill, which is located just outside the village of Brockworth, about 15 minutes from Gloucester. As with anywhere in South West England, getting there can seem unnecessarily complicated.
The easiest way to arrive is by car. From Gloucester, it’s only about a 15 minute drive to Brockworth, but getting here is only half the story. Brockworth is not a very big place, so parking comes at a premium. The closest car park to the site is at the Toby Carvery on Shurdington Road but this fills up quickly. Most local businesses will allow you to park in their car park for a fee, but these spaces are usually all gone by 10am.
If the car park at the Toby Carvery car park is full, you can keep driving up the road to the big hotel. If that’s full, the garden centre next door also has some parking spaces. But beyond that, it gets tricky. The later you arrive, the further away you’ll have to park. When me and my friends went this year, we arrived in Brockworth by about 10:30 and ended up having to park outside someone’s house. Some local residents choose to earn some extra cash by charging £15 or so to park on their driveways. Otherwise, it’s free to park in the nearby housing estate but do so at your own risk. I can’t imagine the homeowners are too excited about this happening.
If you’re coming by public transport it is a bit trickier.
The closest intercity train and bus services will probably drop you in Gloucester. From here, you can get a taxi to the Crosshands Roundabout (this is as close as you can get by car). But this will be pricey and taxi’s will be in high demand. Instead, walk for about 5 minutes to Clarence Street and get the number 10 bus. This runs every 20 minutes and will drop you by the Toby Carvery.
If you’re coming by train and/or bus, be advised that Bank Holidays in the UK almost always mean chaos on the rail network. Delays and cancellations are pretty much inevitable and you will likely find parts of the main lines just straight up closed. This year, it took me nearly six hours to get from Gloucester to Cardiff. Mind you, this journey should take less than two hours. I was a broken woman by the time I walked through my front door. Heed my cautionary tale and plan accordingly.
Regardless how you get to this point, from here it is a trek.
From the Toby Carvery, it’s a roughly 25 minute walk uphill to Cooper’s Hill. It’s a bit of a steep walk and you have the option of walking entirely on tarmac or cutting through a field and scaling straight up the hill. I imagine that on a normal day it’s a perfectly pleasant walk. But this year, the Cheese Rolling happened to fall on the hottest May Bank Holiday ever on record in the UK. By the time we reached the start of the walk it was already 31 degrees, and getting hotter. So you can imagine the state of us on that walk.
You’ll know when you’re near the top when you come across a table selling waters and canned drinks, as well as small wheels and wedges of Double Gloucester cheese. Take a breather here because it’s about to get really very busy.
To watch or to race?
If you want to watch the race from the top, or really anywhere on Cooper’s Hill itself, you need to be here early. Ideally no later than 10am. However if you’re not too bothered about where you watch from, you can arrive at any time before the races start and get yourself a spot in the field below. Because the hill is so steep, you can get a pretty good view of the whole hill from below and the atmosphere down there is just as good.
If you want to race, get here early. If you’re over 18 and you feel particularly brave, you can sign up on the day. Getting up the hill can be a challenge once the place starts filling out, and getting up the hill can be a slog. Get here early, get up the hill and present yourself to the volunteers if you want to race! If you’re under 18, you can’t join the downhill races but you can compete in the uphill races!
If you’re just coming to watch, find a spot and settle in.
The first downhill race kicks off at around Midday, and they run every half an hour from then. The racers launch themselves down the hill and the rest of the time between races, the volunteers from St John’s Ambulance clear away the wounded. In between, the uphill races keep everyone watching from below occupied.
There are a few stalls on the lane selling drinks and merch, and people sometimes set up coolboxes and barbecues selling food and drink but I wouldn’t rely on this, so bring some snacks and drinks. Also, there are also no toilets on site. The hill is steep and putting portaloos here is probably a terrible idea. There is a garage at the bottom of the hill, as well as a small corner shop and a Subway. Ample opportunity get your picnic and set yourself up for a nice picnic while you watch people risk life and limb!
Also, this is a world-famous event, so there are often a lot of media journalists roaming around with cameras. They usually ask you before shoving a camera in your face but you may end up in the background shots. We were approached by a journalist from BBC Points West and ended up getting caught in the background of someone else’s interview. And after that hot sweaty walk we were not looking our best.
Finally, just enjoy your day!
This race draws crowds from all over the world and you will meet some amazing people from far flung places. We met a family who had planned their entire trip from South Africa around seeing the cheese rolling. And on the walk back down to the car, we met a young lad from New Zealand proudly showing off his new battle scars after fighting a losing battle with the hill. As one of the oldest continuous traditions in the UK, it’s a fantastic day out and definitely worth making the journey for!
Tips
- Get here early. If you want to watch from Coopers Hill, or you want to race, aim to be on the hill no later than 10am
- Work out where you’re going to park before you arrive and commit
- Wear sturdy shoes – it’s a surprising amount of walking so you don’t want to be wearing the wrong shoes!
- Bring your own food and drink, as there isn’t always anywhere to buy some once you’re up the hill.
- Equally, bring cash. There are some places to buy cans of drink and some cheese rolling swag on the hill but it’s strictly cash only
- There are no toilets anywhere on site, so you might want to take it easy on the ciders!