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Cheddar Gorge

The rock of the Cheddar Gorge area 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, the calcium within them forming huge thicknesses of limestone. This sea floor eventually rose above the sea 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 things are 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. There are writers on human history who feel that caves were used by early man to create their own versions of the Crystal Maze. 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 the emotional effect. There are suggestions that the "cave experience" was used as a kind of training or initiation ritual. I don't think such high minded things were in the thoughts of the creators of "The Crystal Maze" at Cheddar, but 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. All the way up there are benches, and information panels giving details about the geological history of the area. This is a good way to grasp geological time. The information panel at the top of the climb tells visitors that the history of modern man can be represented by the thickness of a sheet of paper sitting on the top step of Jacobs Ladder. Then you look back down those steps, disappearing into gloom through the trees, back down through 250 million years to when the rocks at the bottom of the climb were being created. 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.

 

Opening Times: The Cheddar caves are open every day other than 24th and 25th of December. They are open from 10am until 5.30 in July and August, last admission being 5pm. From September until June they are open from 10.30 until 5pm, last admission being 4.30pm.

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:

phone: 01934742343

e-mail: caves@visitcheddar.co.uk