A commentary on the traditional, popular pastime of 'tumbling' on the hills of Greenwich Park, in this case One-Tree Hill on the east side rather than below the Observatory. Rolling down the hill was considered great sport for young men and their female companions, if the latter could be persuaded to do it. In an age when proper female dress exposed little but the feet and often did not include under-drawers for practical reasons, it was also a spectator sport for voyeurs of all ages, but hazardous for 'players' as well as being considered delightfully (or reprehensibly) improper. Limbs were often broken and people were sometimes killed.

Rowlandson's is one of the best images of it and perhaps a deliberate pastoral equivalent to his famous 'Exhibition Stare Case', also published in 1811. This shows a more urban but similarly voyeuristic fantasy of people accidentally falling down the precipitous stairs at the Royal Academy exhibition at Somerset House.