Cheddar Gorge - Oct 2024

Exploring Cheddar Gorge
Again - only 30 minutes from our home, Cheddar Gorge is famous in the UK where gorges are few and far between. This is also where cheddar cheese originated from and they used the caves to mature the cheese. We did not explore the caves, but we drove through the gorge one day and returned to hike the rim trail another day. We also came away with some local cheddar - cave-matured of course! The 5-mile walk took just under 3 hours and we climbed up 1,138 feet and scrambled down again to have lunch in the back of Percy.

We parked in the Cliff Street parking lot where we also found a nice QR code with links to download several recommended hiking trails. We selected the walk along the rim (5. Gorge Circular) which was described as "strenuous" - they were not wrong! Walking through town to the visitor centre we spotted many small shops and nice gardens. Much to explore another day. Up on the side of the cliff we also spotted Cheddar Lion Rock. With some imagination I guess it looks like a lion.

We turned left on Cufic lane and snuck around Cufic cottage as directed by the map. Sometimes it feels like we are walking through people's gardens but we were comforted by regular "Public Footpath" signs. It didn't take long before we had a good view over the town of Cheddar.

The first part was very steep and also good cardio exercise. The limestone cliffs were photogenic on the other side of the gorge - and that's where we were headed as our return trail.

From this angle, the v-shaped gorge was framing our view over Cheddar and the fields below.

Some parts of the trail were very easy to walk, but many places were slippery and had sharp rocks. Hiking boots saved our feet and prevented falls several times! We were amused by the large gates that let people walk through but stopped livestock from escaping. It was difficult to picture what kind of livestock needed such giant gates!

As we headed back down on the other side of the gorge we got great 180-degree views across the landscape.

It was a clear day and we saw all the way to Glastonbury Tor - although our cameras could not capture it clearly. You must take our word for it.

Our photos don't show how steep the cliffs are - especially as we were not going to get too close to the edge....

We saw a lot of goats, quite a few sheep and some cows along the trail. Signs named these as Primitive English goats which seemed very derogatory. It is a hard life up on these hills, but they seemed content not bothering to move as we walked past.

The three Billy Goats Gruff wandered past - they must have just finished off the troll because they ignored us!

We hadn't purchased tickets so we just admired the lookout tower and the 274-step Jacobs's Ladder from a distance. It can be on our to-do list for next time - or when we don't want to do the climbing up and scrambling down bit.

As we descended back down to the town of Cheddar, we saw many stone houses and access stairs seemingly squeezed together to fit into small spaces.

A fun item spotted in Cheddar - first-time for us - was a drive-by laundry machine. People pulled up with their cars, loaded up the washing machine, paid for a certain load and time, and came back later when it was all done. Genius!

Back in Percy we set up his brand-new table (vinyl tiles pilfered from Liz' stash of things). Now we have a table to put the stove and food on while we sit on the rear bumper.

We also tested setting up our chairs and relaxed with our feet up while enjoying yet another cup of tea.

A week earlier we drove through Cheddar Gorge. We had run out of battery on the dashboard camera, so this is Hild holding her phone on the dashboard - sorry about the shaking and Percy's dirty windscreen.

What is the next adventure, I wonder?

October 2024

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