Publication Date: 28-05-2025 09:00
Bellway helps keep Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival on the map
The Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival is now firmly back on the map after being successfully staged for a second consecutive year.
The event on Sunday 25 May, sponsored by local housebuilder Bellway, celebrated Stilton’s connection with the famous cheese which shares its name.
The company, which is building new homes in the village, contributed £300 towards the staging of the festival.
A firm fixture on the village’s social calendar for many years, the event did not take place between 2017 and 2023 but made a welcome return last year.
This year’s festival began at 10am outside Bellway’s Stilton Gate development on North Street, from where a parade featuring the Stilton May Queen, May King and May Princess made its way to Stilton Pavilion, less than a mile away.
As ever, the highlight of the day was the traditional cheese rolling contest, which involved teams of children and adults rolling a section of wood painted to look like a wheel of Stilton cheese, each vying to register the fastest time.
A series of other activities took place throughout the day, including a fancy dress parade and a welly-throwing competition, along with food vans, a licensed bar, a skate park, a play area and arts and crafts stalls. The festival finished at 9pm after local bands played live on a stage for the last few hours.
Sara Dunleavy, from the Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival committee, said: “Staging this festival is a huge undertaking and we needed all the help we could get in making sure that it happened, especially after the event was not held between 2017 and 2023. We are incredibly grateful to Bellway for the £300 donation which has been used to help pay for the outgoings we had, which included security, licences for the day, prizes and trophies for the various events.
“It was a fantastic day and really helped put the Stilton Cheese Rolling festival firmly back on the map where it rightly belongs. The Bellway donation also helped us keep the festival free so that everyone who wanted to come along, particularly local families, could do so and join in the fun.”
The origins of Stilton cheese are disputed, with some historians claiming it originated in the 18th Century in the Cambridgeshire village that bears its name, but others disagree. Some believe that the cheese was named after Stilton because it was sold in a number of inns along the Great North Road in the village.
In 1996, the Stilton Cheesemakers' Association achieved Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission, meaning it could only be produced in the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, where it is thought the cheese originated.
Michaela Perkins, Sales Manager at Bellway Eastern Counties, said: “Although the origin of Stilton cheese may be up for debate, there is no doubt that this village has taken its connection with this famous cheese to its heart.
“After an absence of seven years, it’s great to see the festival firmly back on the village’s social calendar. It was lovely to be able to play a part in ensuring that the event happened again this year following its long-awaited comeback in 2024.”
To find out more about Stilton Gate, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/eastern-counties/stilton-gate or call the sales team on 01733 592371.
