It’s the stuff of legends. It’s become world-famous. A tradition that dates back more than 200 years. It’s all about cheese. Oh, and throwing yourself down a 1:2 gradient hill.
Yes it’s that time of year when the UK’s craziest festival takes place – the annual Cheese Rolling Festival. Foolhardy participants stand poised at the top of Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire – home of those traditional Cotswold villages – and then The Cheese is Rolled.
Anyone hopeful that they can stay upright all the way down learns after just a couple of strides that it’s impossible on this slope, and seemingly in unison everyone tumbles head over heels, legs over middles, arms over knees…
And they keep going, tumbling, crashing into each other, picking up speed and then wham! If they’re lucky they hit the bottom of the hill with no broken bones. If they’re really lucky, they’re the one that grabs the runaway cheese first, to be crowned the honourable victor of the Cheese Rolling Festival 2014. Still fancy a go? Watching this video might change your mind:
The Cheese Rolling Festival takes place at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, normally in early May.