Spain may have the running of the bulls in Pamplona, but in England the daredevil event of the year is the annual wacky race, the Cheese-Rolling on Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire.
Once a year, as they have done for hundreds of years, young men and women hurl themselves down a hill so steep that it is impossible to remain standing, in pursuit of a seven or eight pound wheel of locally made Double Gloucester cheese.
No one knows exactly when the tradition of people throwing themselves down Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, south east of Gloucester, began but it was already a well-established Whitsun event in the early 1800s. It's now a regular feature of the Spring Bank Holiday.
There's a men's and a women's downhill race and uphill races for children. Thousands come to watch and able-bodied cheese-rolling racers come from all over the world.
Rescue teams at the ready
In case you don't think this wacky race is daredevil enough, consider this. A few year's back the St. John Ambulancemen, a volunteer first aid brigade, declared they couldn't scale the hill to rescue injured participants and a local cave rescue team now stands by with the first aiders. Most of the injuries are cuts, scrapes and sprains but the occasional broken bone is not unheard of among participants who
bounce, tumble, roll and slide down Cooper's Hill, chasing the cheese.
