The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake

The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is a quintessentially English annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper’s Hill, just over a mile from Brockworth in Gloucestershire, England. 

It consists of competitors chasing down the hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese, sent rolling down ahead of them. 

In 2026, record crowds gathered to watch a truly international field compete. The event took place in scorching temperatures of 30 °C although conditions were considered good due to heavy spring rain, resulting in no serious injuries.

Race 1, the prestigious men’s downhill race, was won and retained by German YouTuber Tom Kopke. He passed world record holder Chris Anderson in the final few yards by managing to stay on his feet late on.

Elise Alix Heugas from France, ran, rolled and bounced down dressed in a mouse onesie to take the title and cheese in Race 3, the women’s downhill race.

The Anderson family had better luck in the arduous uphill races. Chris’s son William won the boys 11-year-olds and under race, while his cousin Xander Anderson won the boys 12 to 16-year-olds race.

The history of cheese rolling on Cooper’s Hill dates back over 200 years, although its exact origin isn’t known.  It was originally held just for the local villagers.  Today, people from all over the world converge on Brockworth each year to take part. Traditionally, there are five downhill races, four for men and one for women. Safer uphill children’s races were introduced more recently.  Each race may have between 20 and 40 participants.

Cooper Hill is 200 yards long with a 50% gradient, and the 8 lbs round of cheese is released one second before the participants.  They then race, fling, hurl, tumble, fall or by whatever means possible in pursuit of the cheese.  Nobody ever catches the cheese, with it reaching speeds of 70mph.  The winner of each race is simply the first to cross the line at the bottom and receives a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese as their prize.

Chris Anderson has won the men’s race most times with 23 victories.  Flo Early has won the women’s race most times, with four victories.

Injuries and concussions are an inevitable consequence of the race, sometimes serious, although no deaths have been reported. The event was cancelled in 1998 by the police on health and safety grounds, following 33 competitors requiring medical treatment the previous year.  It was again cancelled in 2010, again on health and safety grounds, causing much anger, not just locally.  

In recent years, it has run on an unofficial basis, and thousands of spectators continue to attend this unique event.  The race was again cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, but today it’s more popular than ever and attracts competition and crowds from across the world.