Robert Dover's Cotswold Olimpick Games

Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden and overlooking the Vale of Evesham, is a beautiful plateau commanding extensive views from the plains of the Avon and the Severn to the foothills of the Welsh mountains. Owned by the National Trust, it provides an ideal setting for open air games.

Each year, on the traditional date of Friday after Spring Bank Holiday, the hill echoes with the shouts and cheers of competitors as Robert Dover’s Cotswold ‘Olimpick’ Games (not Olympic Games) are celebrated. Bands march, cannon fire, rustic activities and wrestling take place, and the evening is brought to a close with fireworks and a torchlight procession into Chipping Campden.

To mark the 400th anniversary the 2012 Olimpicks on Friday 1 June will begin earlier than usual, at 2 pm on Dover's Hill. The full programme, details of admission prices and parking will appear nearer to the time.