Cheese Rolling in Gloucester

On Monday, I drove to Gloucester for the world famous Cheese Rolling event. It was a rainy, windy and cold day when I woke up in the morning, and while it was very tempting to stay inside at home, I decided that it was a once in a lifetime chance for me to see this spectacle, so braved the weather and headed to Cooper´s Hill, just outside of Gloucester.

It took me about an hour to drive along the M5 to my exit, then about another hour to drive the 3 miles from my exit to the carpark (paddock)! In the end, I think I must have missed one or two races because of the traffic congestion- I think they should have Alex here next year to coordinate the traffic into the carpark, they have nothing on Agfest!

I nearly had a heart attack climbing up the hill in the carpark to the bottom of the hill where they run the races. There was no way I would have been able to make it to the top of the Hill!

So I stood in the middle of a paddock, surrounded by all the crazy people who decided to brave the crazy English weather so that we could watch a bunch of even crazier people running, rolling, or sliding down the hill, trying to beat a wheel of cheese to the bottom! There was about a 10 minute wait between some of the races while they stretchered the injured away from the previous race. Just before one of the races, one of the competitors slipped or was pushed and he did flips all the way down the hill! I am amazed that he didn´t break his neck. Here are some photos and videos from the races.

The lesser known "Uphill race"

After the races had been run (rolled), I hopped back in the car and headed straight back home. I had intended to have a look in Gloucester after I´d been to the Cheese Rolling, but I was absolutely soaked through and had mud all the way up my trousers, so went home to change and do some washing!