Get your kicks at the Cotswold Olympick Games

Chipping Campden might enjoy its label as the prettiest spot in the country but beneath the butterscotch brickwork beats a fiercely competitive heart. The jewel in Gloucestershire’s crown is also home to the Cotswold Olympick Games, a cutthroat competition in the heartland of England.

Sword fights and water slides

This is a rural games event on steroids. Located at the foot of Dover Hill on the outskirts of town, every year locals and visitors trash it out for victory in wheelbarrow sprints, hammer tossing, tug ‘o war contests, water slides races, dustbins charges, sword fighting (ok, they’re wooden), and cross country running.

Horses and Helter Skelter

The Cotswold Olympick Games have been a thing here since around 1612 (coincidentally the year of the last British burning at the stake), when local lawyer Robert Dover established the competitive games as an outlet for local combative spirit. The historical roots are on proud display on the day. Locals dressed in Stuart-era pageantry parade around on horseback while Morris dancers and folk dancers prance across the grass. There’s an old fashioned helter skelter, and fairground rides while funk and flame jugglers bring it all up to date.

The Cotswold Olympick Games are free to enter and open to everyone over the age of 16, but competition is fierce. You’ll need to register your interest in advance (via the website at the bottom) and turn up early on the day to secure your place.

Shin kicking contest

The star event is the shin kicking contest, a fairly blood thirsty affair. Rules are basic: opponents grip each other by the shoulders and try to kick each other as hard as they can until someone falls on the ground. In bygone times devious contestants tipped their boots with nails to inflict greater wounds but in these more benign times toe caps have been banned and you’re even allowed to pad your legs with straw.

Spectator sport

The games site opens at 4pm and the games themselves kick off at 7pm and keep going until the sundown. Spectators gather on the side of the hill and once the victors have been crowned, a fire-lit procession wraps things up.

Other attractions  

Mid-summer is a brilliant time of year to visit Chipping Campden. Its glow up is in full force; all foxgloves and forget-me-knots, thatched roofs and scones for tea. The  Cotswold Olympick Games mark the tail end of the town’s literary festival season but  there’s still plenty to do locally. Make sure you book a hotel early - accommodation gets snapped up well in advance.