Black Down - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

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.

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.

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.

Cheddar Reservoir is an artificial reservoir in Somerset, England, operated by Bristol Water. It has a capacity of 135 million gallons. The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo river in Cheddar Gorge. It is roughly circular in shape, and surrounded by large earth banks which are grazed by sheep.

Chew Valley Lake often attracts rare birds, including osprey, the scarcer grebes, and an American wader or duck appears most years. Itt is renowned for its scenic beauty and top-quality fly fishing. It often attracts rare birds, including osprey, the scarcer grebes, and an American wader or duck appears most years.

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.