Wheelbarrows and woolsacks - quirky West events

Thousands of people will head to Cooper's Hill in Gloucester on Monday for the annual adrenaline rush of the cheese rolling races.

Hurling yourself down a steep slope to chase a cheese may sound a bit odd to the neutral, but it's far from the only eyebrow-raising event in the West over the bank holiday weekend.

From woolsack and wheelbarrow races to hundreds of plastic ducks, here's a run-down of quirky events across the region over the next three days.

The forecast is for a warm, sunny bank Holiday Monday which is maybe not good news for those taking part in the woolsack races in Tetbury in Gloucestershire.

Competitors run up and down the very steep Gumstool Hill in the town with sacks of wool weighing 60 pounds on their shoulders.

It harks back to a 17th Century tradition where men used to run from pub to pub carrying the wool sacks to impress the local ladies.

Tetbury used to be home to one of the busiest wool markets in the country as it was surrounded by sheep country and was on an important route from Oxford to Bristol.

It was in the 1970s that the races started in the current form, before they were paused during the Covid-19 pandemic and returned in 2024.

Danny and Kirsten Toft decided to help start a new committee after the pandemic.

Kirsten has a history with the race, as she won the Guinness World Record for the fastest female time of one minute and six seconds in 1992.

The range of races this year on Bank Holiday Monday include men's and women's individual, relays and primary school race and youth races for teenagers aged between 14 and 17.

As part of Watchet Carnival, the Somerset town will host its annual wacky wheelbarrow race.

Some competitors opt to have a half pint of either lager or cider at eight pit stops at various pubs and sports clubs along the way. The 'pusher' and 'pushee' have to change halfway too.

Spectators can expect customised wheelbarrows and 30 men's, ladies' and mixed teams in fancy dress.

Organiser Kevin Porter said: "It's the time of the year where everyone in Watchet comes out.

"The people who enter put a lot of time and effort to dress their wheelbarrows.

"Last year, there was a huge airplane with a moveable nose and wings."

Porter said the event started 25 years ago, as a fundraiser for the Watchet Carnival.

This year's race starts at 14:00 on Sunday on the Esplanade.

The Bradford-on-Avon Duck Race returns for another year on bank holiday Monday with the ducks launched off the McKeever Bridge and into the river at 12pm.

The plastic birds then float down the river before being fished out by the canoe team.

Ducks can be sponsored in local shops and pubs around the town, or purchased on the day at Westbury Garden.

The annual race was initially meant to take place on Easter Monday, but was postponed twice due to swans nesting on the river.

The town council has assured local residents that "all pre-purchased ducks will remain valid for the new date".

Due to the nesting swans this year's launch point will be from McKeever Bridge, the next crossing down the river from the race's usual start on the Town Bridge.

Prizes include swimming lessons, cream tea vouchers, gig tickets and lifestyle cushions from local family-run interiors business Dible & Roy.

Over in Langport in Somerset you will find the second duck race of the weekend, organised by the local Rotary Club.

The event, from 11:00 to 14:00 BST on Monday, will see hundreds of ducks tipped into the river, with locals buying them to be in with a chance of winning £100 if their plastic competitor comes first.

"Rotary is going quackers over the bank holiday," said Adrian Carter from Langport and Somerset Rotary Charity, said.

"We will raise money for local charities and groups. For example, Christmas lunches and Somerset Young Carers."

The Mendip Hills south of Bristol are usually associated with the sounds of birdsong and the chatter of hikers, but on Monday there will be a different - louder - sound in the air.

Bank holiday banger racing is returning to the Mendips Raceway near Cheddar, with the action starting from 13:00 BST.

The discipline of banger racing is very much a contact sport as drivers bash their way through and sometimes even destroy their vehicles altogether.

There will be multiple races at the raceway this year, with children under five getting free entry with paying adults, and dogs on leads welcome.

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