Cheddar Reservoir - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is 115 m deep and is 3.405 km long, and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain. Palaeolithic caves and rock shelters provide some of the earliest evidence of human activity in the period from about 400,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Cheddar Gorge, which is located on the edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom.[44] The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Cheddar Man was found in 1903. This world-famous site is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which reveals many hidden secrets including fascinating stories of our prehistoric ancestors.

West Mendip Way is a dramatic ridge route cutting West to East over the Mendip Hills, a designated ‘Area of outstanding Natural Beauty’ that bridges the full variety of the rich landscape of Somerset. It climbs the Mendip escarpment affording views over the Somerset Levels. It then crosses the central Mendip plateau leading down to Cheddar Gorge and on to Wells.The western trailhead of the Limestone Link is within 2 kilometres of the Mendip Way near Shipham.

Black Down is the highest summit in the Mendip Hills of north Somerset, and lies at the centre of the largest area of open, unfenced moorland in the county. The summit is marked by several ancient burial mounds, or burrows, and it may be reached by paths from various directions, the shortest route just 0.7 miles. The shortest route of ascent goes from the Burrington Combe car park and is approximately 1 km long.

A heavily wooded gorge on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, Ebbor nature reserve offers excellent walks through ash woods and a superb view out over the Somerset Levels. The 41 ha reserve is cleft by two steep-sided valleys. The site was occupied by humans in the Neolithic Era and their tools and flint arrow heads have been discovered, along with pottery from the Bronze Age. There are also fossils of small mammals from the Late Devensian.

Wookey Hole is the UK’s largest show caves system, home to the infamous Witch of Wookey Hole and our new Chamber 20 with rare rock formations. With these world famous caves PLUS over 20 magnificent attractions, Wookey Hole is a great day out for all the family. The caves have been used by humans for around 45,000 years, demonstrated by the discovery of tools from the Palaeolithic period, along with fossilised animal remains.