You've been warned.
Ryder-Walker guest Paul Loch recently returned from a self-guided Rob Roy Way and Cotswolds Way and he kindly shared these photos from his trip. One of his favorite memories: “The Famous Double Gloucester Cheese Race. While no longer sanctioned by authorities, it’s a real hoot!”
Paul wanted to see this race for a long time, and he finally made it this year.
What is the Gloucester Cheese Race? It’s an annual event where competitors race each other down a dangerously steep hill while chasing an 8-pound wheel of Double Gloucester Cheese.
Maybe that's too kind.
The Sports Gazette summarized the race this way; "twenty young men chasing a cheese off a cliff and tumbling 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by paramedics and packed off to the hospital"—a more apt description.
The event takes place at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester England and draws between five and ten thousand spectators each year. It’s total chaos and injuries are common. The cheese has been known to touch speeds of 70 mph! To date, no participant has actually caught the cheese.
It’s worth noting that pictures cannot, and will never, do this race justice. The hill is insanely steep. If Cooper's Hill had a ski lift, it would be labeled Double Black Diamond (experts only).
Feel like falling down the rabbit hole? Check out the following website. It’s the definitive source for cheese rolling in Gloucester, England. http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/
And don’t forget to check out Paul’s photos from his walk. Note: You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom to see the images from the Cheese Roll.
Thanks Paul, for sharing these images!
Image by Paul Loch