While the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling has a history dating back to at least the 1800s, health and safety concerns saw the 2010 and 2011 events cancelled, creating local and even international uproar from fans of the local tradition. But that didn’t stop loyal competitors taking to the hill, and hundreds of spectators showing up, to create their own unofficial versions of the world-famous spectacular over the last two years.
And unless organisers announce an official version of the event for 2012, Monday 4 June 2012 will undoubtedly see the third unofficial Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling in a row, with hordes of fearless contestants chasing a weighty 8lb Double Gloucester cheese down a death-defyingly-steep hill.
The slope on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, the setting for the world-famous event, is in fact so steep that very few contenders manage to even stay on their feet, instead tumbling head-over-heels down the hill in a desperate effort to catch the coveted dairy prize.
Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2011 video
