Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill
Every spring, people hurl themselves down a Gloucestershire slope after a 3-4 kg wheel of cheese that can outrun them all. The prize for winning is the cheese itself.
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Quick Facts
- Where
- Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth, Gloucestershire
- When
- Spring Bank Holiday Monday, late May
- The cheese
- A round of Double Gloucester, traditionally around 7-9 lb (3-4 kg)
- The prize
- The cheese, awarded to whoever crosses the finish line first
- Head start
- The cheese is released moments before the racers
- Earliest written trace
- A reference from 1826, though locals say the custom is far older
- Format
- Several downhill races, including separate men's and women's races, plus an uphill race
- Record-holder
- Chris Anderson of Brockworth, who has won more than twenty times
The only race where the cheese always wins
Nobody has ever beaten the cheese to the bottom of Cooper's Hill. It is released with a head start, and the slope is so steep that it bounces and tumbles away at a speed often quoted as up to 70 mph. The racers have no hope of catching it. The rule is simple: the first person over the finish line at the bottom wins the cheese. In practice, that means whoever stays upright longest, or at least tumbles fastest. The hill is brutally steep, and in places it is close to a cliff for anyone trying to run down it. Most competitors lose their footing within a few strides and finish the descent by rolling, sliding or somersaulting.
A custom older than anyone can prove
The earliest written trace of the event is a message to the Gloucester town crier in 1826, but nobody believes that was the beginning. The custom was already well established by then. Some say it began as a pagan fertility ritual, with bundles of brushwood rolled down the hill to welcome spring and encourage a good harvest. Others link it to the right to graze animals on the common land of Cooper's Hill. Neither theory can be proved. What is clear is that it grew out of the local community. For generations it was a Brockworth affair, a village scramble up the hill on a bank holiday.
How a race day actually works
The cheese is a Double Gloucester, the county's famous hard cheese. The cheeses are supplied by Rod Smart of Churcham, continuing the tradition begun by his mother, Diana Smart, in 1988. For the occasion they are decorated with ribbons and rosettes. The cheese is a good deal more than a stage prop. It is an expensive, carefully made object that gets bashed down a hill at high speed. A master of ceremonies in a white coat and top hat oversees the races, and the cheese is started with a traditional countdown. Competitors line up at the top, wait for the call and then throw themselves over the edge. There are several downhill races through the afternoon, with a women's race among them and an uphill race for those who prefer a different kind of agony. Winners of each downhill race take home a cheese. Each race usually ends with a pile of bodies at the bottom, where volunteer medics are waiting.
The year the official event stopped
As word spread, so did the crowds. Videos of the race circulated around the world, and spectators and competitors began arriving from abroad, including a number of overseas winners. The hill was never designed for visitors in their thousands, and injuries among racers and spectators became a serious worry. In 2010 the official event was cancelled on safety grounds. The tradition refused to die. Local people carried on, with the race run unofficially and organised by volunteers. Cooper's Hill had hosted the race for centuries and it was not about to be stopped by a cancellation notice.
Local legends and a very long winning streak
The most famous name in the sport is Chris Anderson of Brockworth, who has won the downhill race more than twenty times. Locals regard him as the master of a hill that most people can barely stand on. The uphill race, the downhill races and the women's race have all produced their own champions, and winners have come from well beyond Gloucestershire. The race has a strong sense of local pride, but it welcomes anyone daft enough to try. Nearby Randwick keeps its own cheese-rolling tradition as part of the Randwick Wap, a reminder that Gloucestershire has a long relationship with chasing round cheeses.
Notable people
- Chris Anderson
- Diana Smart
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