Cheese survives heatwave during rolling festival

4 hours ago

Alice Cunningham

News image — Cool Rollings won the real Stilton cheese rolling event on Sunday

Sara Dunleavy A group of four men stand together with their arms around each other and smile at the camera. One on the end holds a small wheel of Stilton cheese. Two of the men wear large hats and another wears a cap. They are all wearing sunglasses and T-shirts. — Cool Rollings won the real Stilton cheese rolling event on Sunday

Cheese wheels used during a popular rolling festival have managed to survive the hot and sticky temperatures reached on the day.

The Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival was held on Sunday in the Cambridgeshire village of the same name.

First held in the 1950s, the competition normally sees individuals roll a circular wooden log, cut like a wheel of cheese, along the course – but this year real cheese was used, and it survived the heatwave.

Sara Dunleavy, who helped organise the event, said the cheese was distributed to attendees after the rolling and it was "very tasty".

Sara Dunleavy Two women in a selfie picture. They are wearing cowboy hats and outfits. One of them is holding a microphone. — Event compere Sara Dunleavy (left) said the cheese was "very tasty"

"I think this is where I'm going wrong... I normally have it straight out of the fridge, but if you have it at room temperature it seems more creamy and I think you get more flavour," she joked.

"But then it could start to hum a bit."

She added: "We managed to dish it out afterwards. Lots of people had crackers and said how delicious it was.

"I think it's going to be a game-changer."

Sara Dunleavy A group of four people crouch, ready to roll a wheel of cheese. Three of them are wearing cowboy hats and two of them have their hands placed on the wheel. — The teams had to dress up for the Wild West theme and roll their wheels of cheese

This year's theme was the Wild West.

"It was amazing. We had such a brilliant turnout," Dunleavy said.

The tradition was started by four publicans who were thinking of new ways to generate income after the village of Stilton was bypassed by the A1 in 1959.

The festival was cancelled in 2018 with organisers citing rising costs and the perception it was no longer seen as being "cool", but it returned in 2024.