Gloucestershire's record breaking cheese rolling race gets recognition

The Coopers Hill cheese rolling race has been going for hundreds of years

The race takes place annually on the May bank holiday.
Author: Sarah RowlandsPublished 10th Sep 2026

An iconic Gloucestershire tradition, dating back hundreds of years will feature in this years Guinness World Record Book!

The Coopers hill event is officially the world’s Longest-running cheese-rolling race.

The tradition of chasing a double-Gloucester cheese down the 180 metre long Cooper's Hill in Brockworth can be traced back to a written account from 1836. But some historians believe that the tradition stretches back for hundreds of years, and may even have its roots in pagan fertility rituals predating the Roman era.

As Cooper's Hill is on common land, the rolling of a cheese nods to the legacy of common grazing rights for locals.

This wacky tradition sees competitors hurl themselves down a 1:2 incline after the 3.6kg double Gloucester cheese. There are usually four races the third race reserved for ladies traditionally.

The wacky, sometimes dangerous, pursuit of cheese is known across the world and it will be featured in the 2027 edition of the Guinness World Record Book.

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