In Photos: Cooper’s Hill cheese roll
- Text by Ben Smoke
- Photography by Theo McInnes
The first written record of cheese rolling at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, England, is from 1862. It is thought that at the time the document – a note to Gloucester’s town crier – was written, the tradition had already been taking place for hundreds of years. There are competing origin stories for the practice, which involves the throwing of a nine pound wheel of cheese down the 200 yard long hill, which is chased after by competitors aiming to catch it.
The practice, which attracts huge crowds to the otherwise sleepy Cotswold hills every spring bank holiday, is believed to have begun as a way of maintaining grazing rights over the land. Other theories point to Pagan origins, where burning bundles of brushwood were rolled down hills to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of the new year.
Either way, the event is now world famous, attracting visitors from as far away as Australia to take part. There are four races throughout the day, where people race one another to claim the Double Gloucester cheese – made locally – and the crown. As one might expect, many of those throwing themselves down a sheer, uneven cliff at speed find themselves injured. Last year, Canadian Delaney Irving won the ladies race despite finishing unconscious. She found out about her victory in the medical tent.
This year’s event was no different, with around 5,000 gathering to chant “cheese, cheese, cheese” as contenders once again flung themselves down the hill. Huck photographer Theo McInnes was there to capture all the action.
You might like
A stark, confronting window into the global cocaine trade
Sangre Blanca — Mads Nissen’s new book is a close-up look at various stages of the drug’s journey, from production to consumption, and the violence that follows wherever it goes.
Written by: Isaac Muk
“Like skating an amphitheatre”: 50 years of the South Bank skatepark, in photos
Skate 50 — A new exhibition celebrates half a century of British skateboarding’s spiritual centre. Noah Petersons traces the Undercroft’s history and enduring presence as one of the world’s most iconic spots.
Written by: Noah Petersons
“I didn’t care if I got sacked”: Sleazenation’s Scott King in conversation with Radge’s Meg McWilliams
Radgenation — For our 20th Anniversary Issue, Huck’s editor Josh Jones sits down with the legendary art director and the founder of a new magazine from England’s northeast to talk about taking risks, crafting singular covers and disrupting the middle class dominance of the creative industries.
Written by: Josh Jones
Free-spirited, otherworldly portraits of Mexico City’s queer youth
Birds — Pieter Henket’s new collaborative photobook creates a stage for CDMX’s LGBTQ+ community to express themselves without limitations, styling themselves with wild outfits that subvert gender and tradition.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The suave style and subtle codes of gay San Francisco in the ’70s
Seminal Works — Hal Fischer’s new photobook explores the photographer’s archive, in which he documented the street fashion and culture of the city post-Gay Liberation, and pre-AIDS pandemic.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In photos: Columbia Hike Society turned a laundrette into a gear hub
Dirtbags — It kicked off the initiative’s latest season, which will feature 30 guided treks across the UK in 2026, with cleaning and repair stations, and upgrades to well-worn tech.
Written by: Noah Petersons
