Chase a Cheese Downhill: Weird Races This Weekend!

This upcoming bank holiday Monday, thousands will gather at Cooper's Hill in Gloucester for the much-anticipated annual cheese rolling races. This unique event involves participants hurtling down a steep incline in pursuit of a wheel of cheese. The region is celebrating a variety of unusual traditions throughout the extended weekend.

In Tetbury, Gloucestershire, the annual woolsack races will take place on Gumstool Hill. Competitors carry substantial 60-pound sacks of wool up and down the steep incline, a tradition harking back to the 17th century. The races, which resumed in 2024 after a pause during the Covid-19 pandemic, feature various categories including individual, relay, and youth races.

Somerset will host its own eccentric events, including a wacky wheelbarrow race in Watchet as part of its carnival. This event, which started 25 years ago, involves teams pushing wheelbarrows, sometimes with designated stops for refreshments, and participants often showcase elaborate fancy dress and custom wheelbarrows. The Bradford-on-Avon Duck Race will also occur, with hundreds of plastic ducks launched into the river.

Further festivities include a second duck race in Langport, Somerset, organized by the local Rotary Club to raise funds for charity. Additionally, the Mendips Raceway near Cheddar will host banger racing, a high-impact motorsport where drivers intentionally crash their vehicles. These varied events underscore the lively and unconventional spirit of the West Country's bank holiday celebrations.