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Cheddar Gorge, Somerset

The rock of Cheddar Gorge in the Mendip Hills of Somerset was formed over three hundred million years ago, in a sea with a sandstone floor. Sea creatures and plants rained down on the sea floor, calcium within them forming huge thicknesses of limestone. Earth movements eventually pushed this sea floor above sea level as a plateau.

About one million years ago, melt water from glaciers formed during successive ice ages etched out the landscape, cutting the gorge, and dissolving limestone below the ground to produce vast caverns.

Cheddar Gorge offers a number of show caves, and a museum dedicated to human evolution. The oldest complete human skeleton ever found in Britain was found in Gogh's Cave at Cheddar. The Cheddar Man skeleton is thought to be 9000 years old. The original is in the Natural History Museum in London, but a replica has been placed in Gogh's Cave where the find was made. Partial remains have also been found that date back at least 12000 years. Displays at the Cheddar museum explain how DNA from the Cheddar Man was also found in the genes of a Cheddar school teacher.

 

 

 

The Cheddar caves are a partially artificial construct, with walkways widened and floored to make them accessible to the casual visitor. There are also pools of water carefully placed to reflect cave formations. In Cox's cave, on my visit, things were taken a step further with "the Crystal Maze", a rather embarrassing "spooky" walk through artificially created caverns inhabited by various models of goblins and emperors of darkness. This presentation is supposed to be inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien who came to Cheddar on his honeymoon in 1916, and used the Cheddar Caves as a basis for Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings. Personally I think it is best to think of The Crystal Maze in terms of what early man used to do with their caves. Leroi Gorman has suggested that cave paintings were a display that used the caves for their effect. In two cave systems in France, there are a series of cave paintings and sculpture that follow a difficult river route. The idea is that the struggle necessary to get through the cave to see the art was part of an overall emotional effect. There are suggestions that this kind of "cave experience" was used as training or an initiation ritual. Maybe the best way to view Cox's Cave is as an echo of those spooky cave experiences created by man thousands of years ago.

After visiting the caves and museum you can climb Jacob's Ladder, 274 steps leading from the base of the gorge to the rim. On the way up there are benches, and information panels giving details about the geological history you are climbing through. This is a good way to grasp geological time. An information panel at the top of the climb tells visitors that all of human history can be represented by the thickness of a sheet of paper sitting on the top step of Jacob's Ladder. Then you look back down those steps, disappearing into gloom through the trees, back down through 250 million years. The vastness of geological time becomes something that can actually be seen.

Nature trails along the rim eventually lead back down to the base. This route involves several hours of quite difficult walking, so take water if you are attempting it.

 

Visitors' Centre

Opening Times: The Cheddar caves are open every day other than 24th and 25th of December. Opening is 10am until 5.30pm in July, August and the Easter, May and Whitsun school holidays, last admission 5pm. For the rest of the year opening is 10.30am until 5pm, last admission being 4.30pm.

Address: Cheddar Caves and Gorge, Cheddar, Somerset BS27 3QF

Directions: The closest cities to Cheddar are Bath and Bristol, about a twenty minute drive away. The A371 takes you into Cheddar. The B3135 actually runs through it. There are a number of parking places along the B3135, with the biggest carparks at the bottom of the hill near the visitors centre. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Cheddar Gorge.

Access: Adapted toilet facilties are available, and there is wheelchair access to Gough's Cave. There are audio guides specifically designed for people with sight problems.

Contact:

telephone: 01934 742343

web site: http://www.cheddarcaves.co.uk/