Day 6: Rest day in Painswick

Well, the day has arrived when we witnessed firsthand the greatest madness I have ever experienced (watching is experiencing on this occasion). We were relieved when the bus arrived to take us to Cooper's Hill because we didn't want to walk too far on a rest day. And this rest day is a Bank Holiday which means the buses don't run as often as usual. A sense of excited anticipation was tangible in the seats on the bus. Local advice from the seat in front told us the best stop to alight from, so that we wouldn't have to walk/climb too far. There was no way around it, a very steep climb stood between us and the cheese roll event. We arrived at 10:30 for a 12 o’clock start for the first race. A huge crowd had already taken up the top viewing stations along the two sides of Cooper's Hill.

We parked ourselves right in front, at the bottom of the hill, with a seven foot wire fence in front of us, so all the photos will be taken through it. The security people have suggested that we move because they can’t guarantee what the cheese will do! Nobody else moved so we are staying put also. The TV cameras are more exposed than we are. We lost Graham and Ammie on the climb up which means photo exchanges later, they are stationed on the side.

Right in front of us, on the other side of the fence, a group of 40 rugby players are assembling. They are the catchers for when the contestants come hurtling down the hill. They don't have to worry about the cheese, it has to take care of itself - apparently it could bounce over the fence, or into the crowd.

We estimated that by 12:00 the crowd had swelled to about 5000. We were packed in like sardines. Many of the crowd couldn't get onto the hill at all, so they settled down in the field near by. The crowd at the top of the hill was starting to get vocal and the Mexician wave circulated several times. What fun! The man in the white coat appeared with the cheese wheel and a roar went up. He simply rolled the cheese over the edge of the sheer hill face and off it went at break neck pace, bouncing and bouncing all the way down, diverting according to where it landed and what it hit until it came to rest at the bottom. Immediately the contestants surged forward, some running until they fell over and then bounced back up again, some rolling, most falling, also at break neck speed, until they reached the bottom. The first one down wins the cheese and the bragging rights.

The winner of the first race with his cheese wheel. Three men's races and one ladies race down hill; under 12 and 12-16 up hill and a mixed adults up hill all won cheese wheels of varying sizes. When the children went up hill, they were followed by the rugby players who encouraged them and helped them if they got into trouble. The rugby players then brought the kids back down to their parents. Every contestant had to sign a document saying that they were fully accountable for their actions and wouldn't make any claims if they were injured. There were several injuries but it's quite miraculous more didn't get hurt. We felt that there would be lots of sore bodies later that night.

The ambulance was strategically parked ready for an emergency. We were intrigued that the ambos wore helmets but none of the contestants did. I have to be honest and say that the photos and my written account don't capture the full impact of the event but I can recommend you-tube: "Brockworth Cheese Roll 2019". We did enjoy our day immensely. It was great to experience English village life.