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Cheese Rolling festival at Brockworth nr GloucesterI made it down to the bottom of the Hill with no broken bones. The day out at Brockworth was one I would recommend to all adventurous backpackers. On Monday the 30 th of July the housemates and I went to the Cheese Rolling festival at Brockworth near Gloucester. The object of the day was to test the courage of locals and tourists by chasing a 7lb wheel of cheese down a very steep hillside. The excellent weather on the day drew a bigger than usual crowd that were determined to race. As you arrive your heart skips a beat upon the realization that the photos on the web do no justice to the steepness of the hill. The event site has warning signs liberally placed on trees and protective fences saying that no responsibility will be taken for any injury or loss of life. The locals make the best of the opportunity to mention the horrific injuries sustained last year, and you know that the 15 paramedics stationed across the finish line are there for a reason. Lots of beer and sun amplified the natural high of adrenalin, which the body was preparing in anticipation of the sort of injuries sustained by an 80 min game of rugby union. A 10 sec tumble down a hill could result in an ambulance trip to the Brockworth hospital. With this prospect in mind we all lined up to face our cheese-chasing destiny. No scare mongering, or warnings were going to deter our desire to win the wheel of cheese. We lined up at 11am and did not get to race down the hill until 1pm, as the organizers were not expecting so many people. The fortunate thing was that we could not see the results at the bottom of the hill as the people in the line were blocking our view. By the time it was our turn we chased a soccer ball down the hill as they had run out of cheese. This was quite amusing as the majority of chasers were Australian and New Zealand backpackers. With a yell from the marshal and the rolling of the soccer ball all assembled at the start line hurtled down the hill. Any notion of game plan or tactics quickly evaporated, as your only worry became the protection of your head. Tripping, falling, somersaulting down the hill as fast as possible trying to avoid other competitors. I ended up on my feet running at ridiculas speed towards a designated ‘catcher'. He was yelling at the top of his lungs for me to slow down but all I could think of was the finish line. With a maneuver of a seasoned veteran he stopped me shot of the barrier fence. As I was lining up, I struck up a conversation with a Kiwi bloke who had turned up with his mates wearing green singlets. I went down to the bottom of the hill to watch the last race, only to witness the Kiwi bloke trip half way down the hill, get knocked out and roll to the bottom. What a mess! The poor guy was a mass of twisted limbs and scratches. This year we had to wait for 1/2 an hour as the ambulance took some poor chap to hospital. As the ambulance was coming back a kid decided to ignore the organizers advice and made it to the bottom in a mass of dirt and grass. Moments later a message was broadcast over the speaker system "can the mother/relative or friend of the young man please come to the paramedic tent, as he seems to have done himself an injury” I would like to thank the bloke at the bottom of the hill who caught me before I ran into the fence that stands at the bottom of the hill. The day out was excellent and the beer at the end was worth the effort. I would recommend the trip to any adventurous backpacker.
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