Every year on a cool day at the end of May, grown adults gather in the village of Brockworth to chase a rolling nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a steep hill.
Before the race down Cooper’s Hill begins, the fences are removed, the undergrowth is cut and the site is swept through for stones and other dangerous objects.
However, the race is still dangerous for competitors and spectators. Over the years, many have been seriously injured due to
the steepness and unevenness of the hill and the bulk and speed of the cheese itself. This led to a loss of official management in 2010. But the locals are hugely proud of their traditional event, and it carries on today unmanaged. In 2015, around 4,000 people came to watch the spectacle.
From the top of the hill, a 7–9 pounds (3–4 kilograms) round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down the hill, and competitors then start racing down the hill after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese.
The competitors are aiming to catch the cheese; however, it has around a one-second head start and can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour (110 kilometres per hour), enough to knock over and injure a s
pectator.
In the 2013 competition, a foam replica replaced the cheese for reasons of safety. The winner was given the prize of an actual cheese after the competition.
The Cheese Rollers pub in the nearby village of Shurdington, about 3 miles (5 kilometres) from Cooper’s Hill, takes its name from the event.
The nearest pubs to the event are The Cross Hands and The Victoria, both of which are in Brockworth, which competitors frequent for some pre-event Du
tch courage or discussion of tactics and after the event for convalescence.
