Stilton rolling festival to try real cheese

14 hours ago

Helen Burchelland

Natalie Malcolm,in Stilton

News image — Event compere Sara Dunleavy said she would be keeping things "rolling smoothly" and telling a few "cheesy gags"

Natalie Malcolm/BBC Sara Dunleavy is smiling at the camera standing on some grass and holding a sign saying "Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival" (only part of which can be seen). She has long, fair hair that is tied back and is wearing a striped top. — Event compere Sara Dunleavy said she would be keeping things "rolling smoothly" and telling a few "cheesy gags"

A popular "cheese rolling" festival will use an actual wheel of the fragrant favourite for the first time in at least 40 years, organisers have said.

The Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival first took place in the Cambridgeshire namesake village in the late 1950s.

Competitors roll a circular wooden log - cut like a wheel of cheese - along the course, but this year at least one wheel of cheesy goodness will also be rolled.

"We'll be using one real cheese in a finale," said Sara Dunleavy, who has helped organise Sunday's event.

"This will involve the last teams of the day and the committee."

Richard Humphrey/Geograph Participants in the Stilton cheese rolling competition wearing black and white costumes, bent down in a position to begin rolling a log of "cheese". — Teams of four people, many in fancy dress costumes, will roll the "cheese" down the route on Sunday

That means at least two teams will join committee members in finding out what it is like to roll the real deal - or should that be the real wheel?

"I've been in the village 40 years and don't remember cheese being used," said Dunleavy.

Although she added: "One year, [Star Wars and Harry Potter actor] Warwick Davis came and tried rolling a Mini Babybel."

Tom Dunleavy/BBC Men preparing to roll Stilton cheese on concrete, watched by onlookers. Two of the men are lying on their stomachs holding the log of "cheese" by a finishing line, while others are holding them up by harnesses. — Cheese-rolling competitors took the fun very seriously in 2024

"Cheese" logs will be rolled around the route by competitors, who are encouraged to wear fancy dress.

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

The festival was cancelled in 2018 after organisers cited rising costs and a perception it was no longer seen as "cool", but returned in 2024.

There has been an ongoing row for years about the origins of Stilton cheese and who can make it - with some historians claiming it originated in the 18th Century in the Cambridgeshire village that bears its name, but others disagree.

Cheese rolling - what's it all about?

Sara Dunleavy, one of the comperes for the event, and a previous winner, said: "What is different this year is we're going to be rolling real cheese.

"We've not done it before but we're going to give it a go and everyone's welcome to try a bit at the end."

She said a lot of people asked if real cheese was used, so this year "we've been experimenting in our Stilton cheese laboratory and we're going to give it a go".

As a previous champion, her top tip for people taking part was to "look good and try not to fall over".

It all takes place at Stilton's pavilion and the playing field, which one of the organisers, Tianda Woolner, said was far safer than the old route used in years gone by, where the "cheese" was rolled through the streets.

Competitors usually dress up and this year's theme is the Wild West, so organisers are expecting a variety of cheesy costumes and cowboy hats.

There are a number of categories and competitors have to overcome certain obstacles along the way, including negotiating a see-saw and having water squirted at them.