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Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
A deservedly popular tourist attraction
Cheddar Gorge, together with its caves, is well worth a visit if you are ever in north Somerset. However, its popularity means that it is better to go there outside the main tourist season.
The Mendip Hills of Somerset are composed of carboniferous limestone rock that, over many tens of thousands of years, has been worn down by the action of water and partially dissolved by it. The formation of the rock means that it splits naturally along weak points, so that streams can suddenly disappear underground and excavate caverns as they find a new route to the sea. Eventually these caverns can collapse. One place where this has happened is Cheddar Gorge.
The result is a spectacular piece of scenery. The best way to see the gorge is to travel along the minor road from Priddy to Cheddar, which takes you the whole length of the gorge, about three miles. At first you are aware of the green hills getting higher on either side of the road, but the further down you go, the steeper the hills become until they are sheer, rocky cliffs. Watch the road though, because it twists and turns, and at one point it is only wide enough for one car as it dives down between two massive rocks. At the base of the gorge the cliffs are more than 300 feet high on either side.
