Invitation
Programme
Weather
Directions
Accommodation
Further information on Cheese Rolling
Fourth Annual Cheese Rolling Party
Each year, David, Tim and Phil gather their various friends from far-flung places and unite them in bemusement at Gloucestershire's most bizarre sports event.
You are invited to join us for the Cheese Rolling and afterwards, weather permitting, for a barbecue back at David's house. (In the event of wet weather, we will decamp to a nearby watering hole.)
Various activities will be taking place throughout the weekend - please join us for these as well if you are able. Here are the details of the main event, with detailed programme of events below:
- Bank Holiday Monday 26th May 2008
- First cheese is rolled at 1200
- This means arriving chez Davey by 1030 at the very latest
- We would recommend turning up much in advance of this time if possible - come along for a spot of breakfast from 0900
- Participation in actual races is not mandatory, but will certainly be encouraged
- Stout walking shoes and waterproof clothing are absolutely essential
- Please bring a change of clothing and footwear for afterwards - last year David found a footprint on the arm of his sofa and muddy splashes on the ceiling
- You might also like to bring camera and binoculars or similar
Please note: There is nothing whatsoever in the way of facilities on Cooper's Hill.
No toilets. No shelter from poor weather. No shops.
There may be a burger van or ice cream van, but that's about it.
In 2006 and 2007, the weather turned foul at very short notice. Waterproofs and decent walking shoes / boots are essential. Check the weather and dress appropriately.
As in all years, there is a small chance that the specialist mountain rescue team that patrols the event may be called away at short notice. This may result in the event being cancelled: please bear this in mind if you are travelling a long distance.
We won't be parking on Cooper's Hill itself - the scrum to get out of the car park just isn't worth it, and often, the car park is under water anyway. So we definitely need to allow plenty of time getting there and back. It's a fair old walk from the nearest bit of civilisation up the hill.
Programme
This programme is provisional and subject to change, most especially due to adverse weather conditions. Please check back here and / or email us for further information.
| Saturday 24th May 2008 | |
|---|---|
| Arrive, make yourselves comfortable. In the evening, something involving Eurovision and drinking, possibly with some games and gambling. | |
| Sunday 25th May 2008 | |
| Afternoon | A nice Sunday lunch, followed by (depending on the weather) wine tasting, an interesting-looking art exhibition, kite flying and / or big-screen Wii action. |
| Evening | Indiana Jones |
| Monday 26th May 2008 | |
| 0900 | Breakfast at David's - toast, pastries, bacon sandwiches, cereal etc. |
| 1030 | Depart to Cooper's Hill. |
| 1200 | Cheese Rolling 2008 - the first race |
| 1500 | Post Cheese Rolling barbecue. Including the annual Cheesy Challenge and Mini Roll. Or, if wet, something indoors. |
| Tuesday 27th May 2008 | |
| Unlike 2007, there will be no planned events on Tuesday. | |
Weather
- BBC Weather forecast for Gloucester
- Metcheck weather forecast for Gloucester
- WeatherOnline forecast for Gloucester
Directions
You may have seen on the news recently that a teenage girl advertised a party at her house while her parents were away and unexpectedly had two hundred strangers turn up and trash the place. Consequently, I don't intend to publish directions to David's or Tim's houses on this site, but an annotated map may be included with the emailed version of this invitation (depending upon whether you're receiving it from David, Tim or Phil).
This is not meant to exclude partners and other friends from joining in the various events. Please RSVP.
Accommodation
While we are aware that you may be travelling long distances and while we are deliberately providing some sort of entertainment across the whole bank holiday weekend - we don't see you often enough, in our opinion - please take a moment or two to consider the accommodation situation. If you know anybody who lives in the area, maybe even as far away as Bristol, Worcester, Hereford, or Birmingham, please consider asking them nicely if you can stay with them instead. We'd be happy to see them for some or all of our weekend activities.
David has very limited accommodation available; note that both bedrooms are already promised to various people and most floorspace is already taken. Please contact him directly to confirm.
Tim & Lou will be offering accommodation including some floorspace to named invitees.
Phil currently has one spare bedroom and some floorspace in his living room, but it's only a small flat.
Alternatively, here are some local hotels:
- Premier Inn Gloucester Business Park - within walking distance of both David's house and Cooper's Hill, but in an unattractive location.
- Premier Inn Barnwood - easy cycle ride from David's house, but near to a main road.
- Premier Inn Little Witcombe - quiet hotel out of the city, near to Cooper's Hill but a little further from David's house.
- Chase Hotel Cheltenham - four-star hotel very near Cooper's Hill.
- Royal George Hotel - bit further out but in the quiet and attractive village of Birdlip, on the hillside around from Cooper's Hill and with a bar including real ales.
Further information
David has been collecting various bits of useful information about Cheese Rolling since the First Annual Cheese Rolling Party in 2005. Read more about Cheese Rolling and the Annual Cheese Rolling Party