Latest news with #SouthwestEngland
The Independent
20-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
UK set to be hit by more rain and thunderstorms as yellow weather warnings continue past weekend
More areas of the UK have been warned to expect heavy rain and thunderstorms through the weekend and into next week as the Met Office issues fresh yellow weather warnings. The forecaster issued two yellow rain alerts for Scotland and southwest England on Sunday as a thunderstorm warning was put in place for much of the UK on Monday. The rain warning covering Scotland is set to be in place until noon on Sunday, while the warning for the South West will last until 9pm that day. On Monday, the UK is braced for further thunderstorms as the Met Office issued a further yellow warning between 11am and 9pm. The Met Office said people in these areas should prepare for the slight chance of power cuts and that homes and businesses could be flooded. These thunderstorms could bring 15 to 20mm of rain within an hour in places, with perhaps as much 30mm in a few hours, according to the Met Office. Chief meteorologist Andy Page said: 'Intense rainfall will impact parts of the UK as thunderstorms move in from France. 'This weekend is expected to be busy on the roads as more schools in England and Wales break up for the summer holidays, so it's important people keep up to date with the very latest forecast. 'There will be spells of more pleasant weather in parts of the UK through the weekend, with some sunny spells in between systems as they move through.' Earlier on Saturday, an amber alert came into force for London, parts of the South and southeast England from 4am to 11am. Downpours were seen across the capital in what was the first amber warning issued for London since January 2024. Here is the full Met Office forecast for the next few days: Sunday: Remaining unsettled on Sunday with showers or longer spells of rain, some heavy and thundery in places. Fresher than recent days but still warm, particularly in any sunny spells. Outlook for Monday to Wednesday: Low pressure lingers into early next week, keeping conditions unsettled with sunny spells and heavy showers. Showers will gradually ease by Wednesday, with temperatures staying close to the seasonal average.
Times
03-07-2025
- Times
Eight of the best pubs in Cornwall — chosen by our beer expert
Southwest England, like East Anglia, is odd in that there are simply too many great pubs for the number of people who live there. You can put a lot of this down to tourism, which might mean a pub is great for reasons unrelated to beer: the breathtaking harbour views; the tales of smugglers; the links to that famous novel. Sometimes these factors are exploited to distract from stale ale or debit card-melting bills. But there's far more to Cornish pubs than tourist traps. Doom Bar — one of the biggest-selling ales in Britain — may not be to everyone's taste, but it has helped Cornwall build a justified reputation as one of the top real-ale spots in Britain. Of my eight picks here, some are just really good at keeping and serving great ale; at others, the beer is good but they stand out for different reasons. And if I've missed your favourite, let us know in the comments below. After a couple of pints at this mock-Tudor treasure, if you're not having an argument about whether it's a bookshop in a pub, or a pub in a bookshop, you'll start one yourself. Leave your drinks at the table while you browse the shelves. The focus here is on well-curated second-hand books — none of your charity-shop piles of Dan Brown. The local and national real ales are excellent but on a hot day a rarer German lager such as Spaten hits the spot. If you fancy settling in with your purchases, there's also a formidable coffee machine. 3 Bells Court; • Read more reviews from our drink experts The pretty village green out front and the formal-looking façade give you no clue to the cosy, quirky rooms in this place on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The main bar feels like a farmhouse kitchen — if your farmhouse roof beams were covered in real-ale pump clips and a collection of vintage mugs bearing logos for brands such as Oxo and Fujifilm. The landlord, Gary Marshall, has stocked more than 4,000 real ales over the three decades he's been here; the local Camra branch describes it as 'a permanent mini beer festival'. Meanwhile, the foodie crowd comes in for his wife Margaret's daily specials such as curries and steaks. The Green; Built as a monk's rest home in the 15th century, the Blue Anchor is now an authentically preserved pub without the slightest whiff of theme-pub plastic history. Low ceilings, flagstones and wonky angles set the tone for a place that feels reassuringly old-fashioned. Groups of elderly locals who might have been drinking here for hours — and decades — turn pub banter into a spectator sport. Spingo Ales, the in-house brewery at the back of the building, has been here for centuries. When a pint of the 6.6 per cent Spingo Special goes to your head, you'll see how it earned its name. This is one of the UK's best proper pubs. 50 Coinagehall Street; • 9 of the best pubs in London — chosen by our beer expert On the face of it, the Fountain is the classic tourist trap: an ivy-clad building down a lane just off the harbour; tales of smugglers; a 500-year history; St Austell beers on tap. But while locals may roll their eyes at what they see as a regional corporate giant, St Austell has become one of the UK's most impressive brewers, turning out beers at scale that delight young craft and older cask drinkers alike. This pub has been owned by the brewer since 1883 and is the oldest pub in the village. More importantly, it's a member of the elite handful of British pubs that have remained in Camra's Good Beer Guide for 40 years.3 Cliff Street; Pubs that are better known for their food than their beer often have purists grumbling. But while the Gurnard's Head looks like a smart restaurant inside its mustard-coloured coastal building, it feels like a proper watering hole. It's not just the relaxed and friendly staff; it's a philosophy that runs through everything. The main bar is as you'd expect the bar in any pub to be: warm and welcoming, with a small, carefully chosen range of Cornish beers, from the traditional local brewer St Austell to new craft players such as Firebrand and Harbour. The food — featuring locally caught seafood such as charred cuttlefish or crispy red gurnard — is high-end restaurant quality at not much more than pub prices. A place to lose yourself for an afternoon — or a weekend: it has eight bedrooms with sea or moor views; one has its own terrace and • This is the UK city best for pubs — and it's not London A former debtors' prison that takes its name from how food was delivered to inmates, the Hole in the Wall is now a grotto-cum-fairytale-junkshop. In the garden you're greeted by a stuffed lion in a glass case. Inside, the walls and beams are cluttered with military helmets, tankards, bells, horse brasses and objects you'll spend a pint trying to identify. You can tell this stuff has been left by generations of staff and customers, rather than bought in bulk. The beer range is dominated by familiar brands such as Butcombe and Sharp's Atlantic, but nevertheless the pub won Camra Cornwall's Pub of the Year award in 2024 and 2025. It shows that what counts is not necessarily the beer you stock but what you do with it.16 Crockwell Street; This spacious city-centre pub was once a draper's shop but looks more like a converted cinema, painted up gaily. Inside the dark-wood space, not everyone will love the barrel of monkey nuts on the bar and the nutshells and sawdust scattered on the floor. But the range of well-kept real ales, mostly local but with the odd appearance of classics such as Bass, always puts it in contention for Camra Cornwall's Pub of the Year — it won in 2017. The place is as well known for its music as its beer, with bands playing in a room upstairs every weekend and a live jam session on Mondays.7 Quay Street; • Eight of the UK's best brewery taprooms — chosen by our expert Great pubs manifest in many different ways. Does this place have the best beer in Cornwall? No. The best food? No. There's nothing wrong with the usual big brands on cask and the predictable pizza and fish and chips on the menu. But the reason it makes the cut here is that it is on the beach — not near the beach but in the middle of it. Somehow, what began in 1978 as a hut selling ice creams has evolved into a fully blown pub. There's year-round live music — expect lots of cover bands, and Blue in September — and stunning ocean views. The location makes it pricey, but anyone complaining about getting sand everywhere has perhaps missed the point.19 St Pirans Road;
CTV News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
A wheel of cheese, a steep hill and broken bones: say hello to the world's most dangerous race
It's been described as the world's most dangerous race, and it's certainly one of the most ridiculous – a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. To win, all you have to do is chase it down a grassy hill and cross the finish line before anyone else; however, that's much easier said than done. The hill is so steep that it could give you vertigo on the start line and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will make it down to the bottom in one piece. 'You've just got to have a disregard for your own safety,' Chris Anderson explained to CNN Sports. Anderson won his first of his record 23 races in 2005 and broke his ankle in the celebrations, but the excruciating pain and eight weeks in a cast didn't put him off. The next year he won again, but he doesn't remember much about his third victory in 2007, when he crossed the finish line unconscious. 'That was a bit of a blur,' he noted, recalling that he'd banged his head on the way down. Nobody seems to know for sure how long they've been chasing cheese wheels down Cooper's Hill in the village of Brockworth in southwest England, but it first appeared in written records in 1826. It might have started as a pagan ritual to bless the farmers' crops, or perhaps they were originally rolling barrels down to test their integrity – a cooper is, after all, a barrel maker. But it's a tradition that the locals have fought to preserve and it's one they are intensely proud of. And now, with the advent of the internet age, it's an event which has become truly international; thousands of people flock to the event on the last bank holiday in May, and winners have hailed from as far afield as New Zealand and Australia, Egypt and the United States. Cheese rolling race Competitors' limbs flail during a race in 2023. Kin Cheung/AP via CNN Newsource But the ultimate champions are the people who know the hill best: the locals. 'I used to go up there camping with my friends,' Anderson said. 'We used to get drunk and throw each other down.' The hill is absurdly steep: an initial drop of 60 degrees with an average of 45 degree incline. Looking down from the top, it initially seems like a sheer drop and many runners have changed their minds at the last minute when they realize what they're in for. 'The first 10 meters are, like, near vertical,' Anderson explained to CNN. 'You've just got to almost dive into it and try to stay on your feet. 'As soon as you go, there's no stopping, you've just got the let momentum take over. Just try and keep on your feet as long as possible, and if you fall, get up as quick as you can.' Ideally, Anderson prefers the ground to be soft, but not wet. The drier it is, the better the traction, the harder the terrain, the greater the potential for injuries. Organized chaos Video footage of any cheese rolling race depicts a scene of utter chaos. Few competitors are able to remain upright for very long, some are anxiously trying to maintain control by sliding on their bottoms, while others have lost all dignity, careening down in various states of distress. Still images captured by photographers at the bottom present a confusing tableau, as if a giant has tipped a box of action figures out onto the hillside, bodies are upside down, or airborne sideways, and limbs are flailing everywhere. Anderson first attended the cheese rolling when he was around 10 years old, and he remembers seeing the mass of humanity flashing past him on the hill. 'It was so fun to watch people flying and falling,' he reminisced, adding that it wasn't all fun and games. 'One of the most standout things was someone breaking their leg, his studs got stuck in the ground and the momentum just pushed him forward. He was sat in the middle of the hill with his leg just dangling, it was pretty disgusting!' Cheese rolling race Chris Anderson poses at the bottom of the hill after winning in CNN Newsource Serious injuries are practically guaranteed, one year Anderson witnessed three broken ankles, two of which belonged to international runners who missed their flights home because of emergency surgery. Ankle injuries are common – some have witnessed feet out of alignment by 180 degrees – as are concussions; 2023 women's champion Delaney Irving was knocked out just before the finish line and only learned of her triumph when she was told about it in the medical enclosure. On the Netflix docuseries 'We Are the Champions,' women's record holder and four-time winner Flo Early revealed a protrusion of her right shoulder, a permanent disfigurement, caused by a collar bone that was broken on the hill. It's therefore no surprise that many runners might need a splash of alcohol in order to run. Anderson said that the races used to start at 6:30 p.m. in the evening, but the start time was moved earlier because too many people were intoxicated. Now, runners in need of some Dutch courage just start drinking earlier. Anderson told CNN Sports he prepares in moderation by drinking a single can of lager on the walk up. 'I always saw that if you were drunk and you broke something, there's not a great deal they can give you for the pain, so I always try to do it as sober as possible,' he said. Signs posted all over the hill make it clear that runners are participating at their own risk, the local enthusiasts who stage the event say they are not official organizers – in case of injury, there is nobody to sue, and the event is uninsured. Nevertheless, the BBC reported in 2013 that the Gloucestershire police force advised 86-year-old cheesemaker Diana Smart – who makes the 6.6-pound (three-kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese used in the race – that she could be held liable because anyone who facilitates the event could be deemed an organizer by default. Anderson told CNN that he never had any intention of breaking the record of 21 cheese wins, which was set in 1991, but once he got to 13, he decided to keep going. In 2011 and 2017, he won three races in a single day and he broke the record with two more wins in 2018. At the age of 37, he's recovering from a long-term hip injury – and he is 'supposed to be retired' – but if his 16-year-old son decides to compete then he could be tempted back onto the hill, partly to make sure he does it right. 'I'd be happy for him to run,' he said, 'but I've told him if you're not gonna commit, there's no point in even doing it.' The veteran cheese-chaser knows that there are many ways to be hurt on the hill. 'The most dangerous thing is going slow and getting hit from behind. I'd like him to be quick enough to get away from the carnage.' And if he ever decides to run again, he said it won't be for the cheese: 'I actually don't like it. It's got quite a strong aftertaste to it.'
CNN
25-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
A wheel of cheese, a steep hill and broken bones: say hello to the world's most dangerous race
It's been described as the world's most dangerous race, and it's certainly one of the most ridiculous – a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. To win, all you have to do is chase it down a grassy hill and cross the finish line before anyone else; however, that's much easier said than done. The hill is so steep that it could give you vertigo on the start line and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will make it down to the bottom in one piece. 'You've just got to have a disregard for your own safety,' Chris Anderson explained to CNN Sports. Anderson won his first of his record 23 races in 2005 and broke his ankle in the celebrations, but the excruciating pain and eight weeks in a cast didn't put him off. The next year he won again, but he doesn't remember much about his third victory in 2007, when he crossed the finish line unconscious. 'That was a bit of a blur,' he noted, recalling that he'd banged his head on the way down. Nobody seems to know for sure how long they've been chasing cheese wheels down Cooper's Hill in the village of Brockworth in southwest England, but it first appeared in written records in 1826. It might have started as a pagan ritual to bless the farmers' crops, or perhaps they were originally rolling barrels down to test their integrity – a cooper is, after all, a barrel maker. But it's a tradition that the locals have fought to preserve and it's one they are intensely proud of. And now, with the advent of the internet age, it's an event which has become truly international; thousands of people flock to the event on the last bank holiday in May, and winners have hailed from as far afield as New Zealand and Australia, Egypt and the United States. But the ultimate champions are the people who know the hill best: the locals. 'I used to go up there camping with my friends,' Anderson said. 'We used to get drunk and throw each other down.' The hill is absurdly steep: an initial drop of 60 degrees with an average of 45 degree incline. Looking down from the top, it initially seems like a sheer drop and many runners have changed their minds at the last minute when they realize what they're in for. 'The first 10 meters are, like, near vertical,' Anderson explained to CNN. 'You've just got to almost dive into it and try to stay on your feet. 'As soon as you go, there's no stopping, you've just got the let momentum take over. Just try and keep on your feet as long as possible, and if you fall, get up as quick as you can.' Ideally, Anderson prefers the ground to be soft, but not wet. The drier it is, the better the traction, the harder the terrain, the greater the potential for injuries. Video footage of any cheese rolling race depicts a scene of utter chaos. Few competitors are able to remain upright for very long, some are anxiously trying to maintain control by sliding on their bottoms, while others have lost all dignity, careening down in various states of distress. Still images captured by photographers at the bottom present a confusing tableau, as if a giant has tipped a box of action figures out onto the hillside, bodies are upside down, or airborne sideways, and limbs are flailing everywhere. Anderson first attended the cheese rolling when he was around 10 years old, and he remembers seeing the mass of humanity flashing past him on the hill. 'It was so fun to watch people flying and falling,' he reminisced, adding that it wasn't all fun and games. 'One of the most standout things was someone breaking their leg, his studs got stuck in the ground and the momentum just pushed him forward. He was sat in the middle of the hill with his leg just dangling, it was pretty disgusting!' Serious injuries are practically guaranteed, one year Anderson witnessed three broken ankles, two of which belonged to international runners who missed their flights home because of emergency surgery. Ankle injuries are common – some have witnessed feet out of alignment by 180 degrees – as are concussions; 2023 women's champion Delaney Irving was knocked out just before the finish line and only learned of her triumph when she was told about it in the medical enclosure. On the Netflix docuseries 'We Are the Champions,' women's record holder and four-time winner Flo Early revealed a protrusion of her right shoulder, a permanent disfigurement, caused by a collar bone that was broken on the hill. It's therefore no surprise that many runners might need a splash of alcohol in order to run. Anderson said that the races used to start at 6:30 p.m. in the evening, but the start time was moved earlier because too many people were intoxicated. Now, runners in need of some Dutch courage just start drinking earlier. Anderson told CNN Sports he prepares in moderation by drinking a single can of lager on the walk up. 'I always saw that if you were drunk and you broke something, there's not a great deal they can give you for the pain, so I always try to do it as sober as possible,' he said. Signs posted all over the hill make it clear that runners are participating at their own risk, the local enthusiasts who stage the event say they are not official organizers – in case of injury, there is nobody to sue, and the event is uninsured. Nevertheless, the BBC reported in 2013 that the Gloucestershire police force advised 86-year-old cheesemaker Diana Smart – who makes the 6.6-pound (three-kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese used in the race – that she could be held liable because anyone who facilitates the event could be deemed an organizer by default. Anderson told CNN that he never had any intention of breaking the record of 21 cheese wins, which was set in 1991, but once he got to 13, he decided to keep going. In 2011 and 2017, he won three races in a single day and he broke the record with two more wins in 2018. At the age of 37, he's recovering from a long-term hip injury – and he is 'supposed to be retired' – but if his 16-year-old son decides to compete then he could be tempted back onto the hill, partly to make sure he does it right. 'I'd be happy for him to run,' he said, 'but I've told him if you're not gonna commit, there's no point in even doing it.' The veteran cheese-chaser knows that there are many ways to be hurt on the hill. 'The most dangerous thing is going slow and getting hit from behind. I'd like him to be quick enough to get away from the carnage.' And if he ever decides to run again, he said it won't be for the cheese: 'I actually don't like it. It's got quite a strong aftertaste to it.'
CNN
25-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
A wheel of cheese, a steep hill and broken bones: say hello to the world's most dangerous race
It's been described as the world's most dangerous race, and it's certainly one of the most ridiculous – a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. To win, all you have to do is chase it down a grassy hill and cross the finish line before anyone else; however, that's much easier said than done. The hill is so steep that it could give you vertigo on the start line and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will make it down to the bottom in one piece. 'You've just got to have a disregard for your own safety,' Chris Anderson explained to CNN Sports. Anderson won his first of his record 23 races in 2005 and broke his ankle in the celebrations, but the excruciating pain and eight weeks in a cast didn't put him off. The next year he won again, but he doesn't remember much about his third victory in 2007, when he crossed the finish line unconscious. 'That was a bit of a blur,' he noted, recalling that he'd banged his head on the way down. Nobody seems to know for sure how long they've been chasing cheese wheels down Cooper's Hill in the village of Brockworth in southwest England, but it first appeared in written records in 1826. It might have started as a pagan ritual to bless the farmers' crops, or perhaps they were originally rolling barrels down to test their integrity – a cooper is, after all, a barrel maker. But it's a tradition that the locals have fought to preserve and it's one they are intensely proud of. And now, with the advent of the internet age, it's an event which has become truly international; thousands of people flock to the event on the last bank holiday in May, and winners have hailed from as far afield as New Zealand and Australia, Egypt and the United States. But the ultimate champions are the people who know the hill best: the locals. 'I used to go up there camping with my friends,' Anderson said. 'We used to get drunk and throw each other down.' The hill is absurdly steep: an initial drop of 60 degrees with an average of 45 degree incline. Looking down from the top, it initially seems like a sheer drop and many runners have changed their minds at the last minute when they realize what they're in for. 'The first 10 meters are, like, near vertical,' Anderson explained to CNN. 'You've just got to almost dive into it and try to stay on your feet. 'As soon as you go, there's no stopping, you've just got the let momentum take over. Just try and keep on your feet as long as possible, and if you fall, get up as quick as you can.' Ideally, Anderson prefers the ground to be soft, but not wet. The drier it is, the better the traction, the harder the terrain, the greater the potential for injuries. Video footage of any cheese rolling race depicts a scene of utter chaos. Few competitors are able to remain upright for very long, some are anxiously trying to maintain control by sliding on their bottoms, while others have lost all dignity, careening down in various states of distress. Still images captured by photographers at the bottom present a confusing tableau, as if a giant has tipped a box of action figures out onto the hillside, bodies are upside down, or airborne sideways, and limbs are flailing everywhere. Anderson first attended the cheese rolling when he was around 10 years old, and he remembers seeing the mass of humanity flashing past him on the hill. 'It was so fun to watch people flying and falling,' he reminisced, adding that it wasn't all fun and games. 'One of the most standout things was someone breaking their leg, his studs got stuck in the ground and the momentum just pushed him forward. He was sat in the middle of the hill with his leg just dangling, it was pretty disgusting!' Serious injuries are practically guaranteed, one year Anderson witnessed three broken ankles, two of which belonged to international runners who missed their flights home because of emergency surgery. Ankle injuries are common – some have witnessed feet out of alignment by 180 degrees – as are concussions; 2023 women's champion Delaney Irving was knocked out just before the finish line and only learned of her triumph when she was told about it in the medical enclosure. On the Netflix docuseries 'We Are the Champions,' women's record holder and four-time winner Flo Early revealed a protrusion of her right shoulder, a permanent disfigurement, caused by a collar bone that was broken on the hill. It's therefore no surprise that many runners might need a splash of alcohol in order to run. Anderson said that the races used to start at 6:30 p.m. in the evening, but the start time was moved earlier because too many people were intoxicated. Now, runners in need of some Dutch courage just start drinking earlier. Anderson told CNN Sports he prepares in moderation by drinking a single can of lager on the walk up. 'I always saw that if you were drunk and you broke something, there's not a great deal they can give you for the pain, so I always try to do it as sober as possible,' he said. Signs posted all over the hill make it clear that runners are participating at their own risk, the local enthusiasts who stage the event say they are not official organizers – in case of injury, there is nobody to sue, and the event is uninsured. Nevertheless, the BBC reported in 2013 that the Gloucestershire police force advised 86-year-old cheesemaker Diana Smart – who makes the 6.6-pound (three-kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese used in the race – that she could be held liable because anyone who facilitates the event could be deemed an organizer by default. Anderson told CNN that he never had any intention of breaking the record of 21 cheese wins, which was set in 1991, but once he got to 13, he decided to keep going. In 2011 and 2017, he won three races in a single day and he broke the record with two more wins in 2018. At the age of 37, he's recovering from a long-term hip injury – and he is 'supposed to be retired' – but if his 16-year-old son decides to compete then he could be tempted back onto the hill, partly to make sure he does it right. 'I'd be happy for him to run,' he said, 'but I've told him if you're not gonna commit, there's no point in even doing it.' The veteran cheese-chaser knows that there are many ways to be hurt on the hill. 'The most dangerous thing is going slow and getting hit from behind. I'd like him to be quick enough to get away from the carnage.' And if he ever decides to run again, he said it won't be for the cheese: 'I actually don't like it. It's got quite a strong aftertaste to it.'
