Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Competitors hurtle downhill during the annual cheese-rolling at Brockworth in Gloucestershire - a tradition thought to date back to Roman times. The activity involves scores of runners chasing a seven-pound wheel of Double Gloucester down a near vertical slope.

After a two-mile walk through shin deep mud and streams, I arrived at the bottom of the course where I was ushered into a make-shift press enclosure. A barrier made of hay bails kept all the media in one place as well as protecting all of the expensive equipment from the seven pound wheel of cheese (which I have been told can reach up to 70 mph). I captured the spills, flips and aerial ballet moves as the racers crashed down the near vertical face of the hill.

Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Among the various contenders were lots of Australian and New Zealand backpackers as well as others dressed in traditional costumes. One particular man managed to complete 30 percent of the hill backwards. Around 20 people had to be treated for injuries.

Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

After a few runs I was left to complete my own course back down the hill to find my car (which was not without its own challenges). However, it was far safer and a lot cleaner than the ancient sport I was leaving behind!

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