Britain has
a long and varied past – it has been conquered repeatedly, it has conquered
others, and it has colonized half the planet. Through its history, many strange
traditions and festivals have arisen. This list looks at nine of the most
unusual.
Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill

The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an
annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester
in the Cotswolds region of England It is traditionally
by and for the people of Brockworth –
the local village, but now people from all over the world take part. The event
takes its name from the hill on which it occurs. The 2010 event has been
cancelled due to safety concerns over the number of people visiting the event
but it is hoped that it will be held on the late May Bank Holiday in 2011.
Due to
the steepness and uneven surface of the hill there are usually a number of
injuries, ranging from sprained ankles to broken bones and concussion. Cooper’s
Hill Cheese Rolling has been summarized as “twenty young men chase a cheese off
a cliff and tumble 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by
paramedics and packed off to hospital”.