Get Ready to Roll the Cheese
Cheese rolling is the aged-old tradition which sees dare-devil competitor’s hurl themselves down a steep Cotswold hill to claim the famous double Gloucester cheese.
The Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling Festival returns for 2011 and it’s bigger and better than ever before. It will now be taking place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June 2011 at Coopers Hill near Gloucester.
The festival became a victim of its own popularity in 2009 and the 2010 event was cancelled due to fears over traffic congestion and crowd safety, leaving devastated cheese fans in pieces.
But a campaign to ‘Save the Cheese Roll’ was launched and the quirky sport will return as a professionally organised, ticketed, two day festival, with country crafts and traditional games.
The new-look event, renamed The Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling Festival, will also move date from Spring Bank Holiday to the weekend of June, as this is closer to its original time of the Summer Solstice.
The ‘wake’ series of rustic games and competitions, like shin kicking, tug of war, wrestling for a belt, gurning, dancing for ribbons, ducking for oranges, bobbing for penny loaves, climbing the maypole and coconut shies will see this year’s event return even closer to its traditional roots.
Tickets are expected to go on sale in March 2011 so for more information visit www.cheeserollingfestival.co.uk