The Cotswold Games or Cotswold Olimpiks (Cotswold Olympics) (Cotswold Olympicks) have been practised in Chipping Campden since the 1600s when Robert Dover started a day of competitions. The games were called ‘Olimpick’ and were compared with the Greek Olympics (776BC-394AD). Captain Robert Dover, a lawyer by profession inaugurated the Cotswold Olimpick Games in 1612, ten years after Hamlet was first performed, using the natural amphitheatre of Dover’s Hill on the outskirts of the parish. They we Read more

The Cotswold Games or Cotswold Olimpiks (Cotswold Olympics) (Cotswold Olympicks) have been practised in Chipping Campden since the 1600s when Robert Dover started a day of competitions. The games were called ‘Olimpick’ and were compared with the Greek Olympics (776BC-394AD). Captain Robert Dover, a lawyer by profession inaugurated the Cotswold Olimpick Games in 1612, ten years after Hamlet was first performed, using the natural amphitheatre of Dover’s Hill on the outskirts of the parish. They were held on the Thursday and Friday of Whit-week, and included horse-racing, coursing, jumping, wrestling, spurning the bar, pipe-playing and country dancing. Robert Dover died in 1652 and the games continued until 1852 when they were finally ended.

Today the games are a combination of modern team races involving wheelbarrows, straw and water but the most popular event continues to be the Shin Kicking championships. The winner of the 2008 Shin Kicking was Steve “Bulldog” Williams, a marshal art expert from London. Close