28/04/2026
This is such a fun festival and just outside our door - Shaftesbury Food Festival
🧀 🏃🏽🏃🏼♀️The legendary Gold Hill Cheese Race is gearing up for Shaftesbury Food Festival 2026 💛
You might wonder how on earth running up one of England’s steepest, most iconic cobbled streets with a 23kg cheese truckle became a tradition … but in Shaftesbury, history has a delicious way of sticking around.
📜 A tradition rooted in medieval life:
Back in the days of Shaftesbury Abbey (founded by King Alfred the Great 👑), the town’s markets were at the heart of community life. They weren’t just for trading … they were vital for pilgrimage routes too.
Cheese played a huge role locally:
* A key part of the local economy
* A symbol of status and prosperity
* So valuable it was almost used like currency
* Farmers even competed to supply the Abbey with their finest wheels.
Fast forward to today and that competitive spirit lives on in the most wonderful, slightly bonkers way possible 💥
🏃🏽🏃🏼♀️🏃♂️Enter the Cheese Race:
Brave and bold participants of all ages take on the climb up Gold Hill, chasing glory, cheers, and carrying a rather large wheel of cheese.
It’s tradition, teamwork, laughter, and community spirit all rolled into one unmissable festival moment 💫 The heats run all day, starting at 10am with the last race at 3pm 🕒
👉 Fancy taking part? You absolutely should 😉
Sign up here:
🔗 https://www.shaftesbury-food-festival.co.uk/cheese-race
