CHEESE-ROLLING (Gloucestershire)

Gloucestershire's famous Cheese Rolling tradition has attracted such numbers in the past (an estimated 15,000 in 2009) that it's now staged every year by an 'ad-hoc group of enthusiasts' and has been capped at a total of 5,000 attendees. The objective? Simple: to be the first competitor to cross the finish line following a rolling round of Double Gloucester cheese (which can gather furious speeds of up to 70mph). The winner must then perform a shirtless sprint - trophy in hand -back up Cooper's Hill, in a cheese-centric, Circle of Life-type act of symbolism that celebrates the cheese's creation, release, and eventual re-capture.

A note of warning for any wannabe cheese-chasers: despite the seemingly harmless nature of the pastime, multiple injuries have been suffered historically as a result of chasing the cheeses down the hill, ranging from concussion to broken bones.