Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. The Cheddar Show Caves are located in the gorge. Here, the oldest complete human skeleton in Great Britain, called Cheddar Man, was discovered in 1903. Scientists believe he lived about 9,000 years ago. Even older remains from a time called the Upper Late Palaeolithic era, around 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, have also been found. The caves were formed by an underground river. Inside, you can see stalactites and stalagmites. The gorge is part of an area known as the Cheddar Complex, which is protected because it is important for scientific study.

The area, including the caves and other sights, is now a popular place for tourists. In 2005, a survey of Radio Times readers named Cheddar Gorge as the second greatest natural wonder in Great Britain. It was only beaten by Dan yr Ogof caves. Each year, about 500,000 people visit the gorge.

Geology

Cheddar Gorge is located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills and has a maximum depth of 137 meters (449 feet). The area is made up of rock layers, including Black Rock slate, Burrington Oolite, and Clifton Down Limestone from the Carboniferous Limestone Series. These layers contain small round rock particles called ooliths and fossil remains. Beneath these layers are Old Red Sandstone and dolomitic conglomerate from the Keuper. Evidence of the Variscan orogeny, a geological event that caused mountains to form, can be seen in the twisted rock and split shale layers. Weathering of these rock layers has created immature calcareous soils in many areas.

The gorge began forming about 1.2 million years ago during the Pleistocene Ice Age, when the Mendip Carboniferous limestone formed hills shaped like whales' backs. At that time, Britain had a warm and dry climate, similar to the climate in northern Africa today. Flash floods occasionally occurred, causing large amounts of water to flow down the hills and create wadis, which are steep-sided ravines formed by temporary streams. Cheddar Gorge and its nearby neighbor, Burrington Combe, are exposed wadis. These areas were originally filled with Triassic rocks, which may have been removed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last Ice Age. Some parts of Burrington Combe still contain Triassic rocks, creating an unconformity where they meet the older Carboniferous limestone layers.

During the Ice Ages, permafrost (frozen ground) covered the caves with ice and frozen mud, making the limestone unable to absorb water. When the permafrost melted in summer, water flowed on the surface, eroding the softer Triassic rocks and exposing the wadi. During warmer periods, water flowed underground through the limestone, forming caves and leaving the gorge dry. Today, much of the gorge does not have a river until the underground Cheddar Yeo River emerges from Gough's Cave in the lower part of the gorge. The river is used by Bristol Water, which operates a system of dams and ponds to supply the nearby Cheddar Reservoir. Water is transported through a 137-centimeter (54-inch) diameter pipe located just upstream of the Rotary Club Sensory Garden, a public park in the gorge near Jacob's Ladder.

Cheddar Gorge is vulnerable to flooding. During the Chew Stoke flood in 1968, fast-moving water carried large boulders down the gorge, damaging the café, the entrance to Gough's Cave, and washing away cars. Flooding inside the cave lasted for three days. In 2012, the B3135 road through Cheddar Gorge was closed for several weeks after heavy flooding damaged the road surface.

Ownership

The south side of the gorge is managed by the Marquess of Bath's Longleat Estate. The cliffs on the north side are owned by The National Trust. Each year, both landowners help pay for removing scrub, bushes, and trees from the area.

Most tourist activities in the gorge take place on the Longleat-owned south side. This includes access to the two main show caves and the visitor center, which is run by a company owned by Longleat called Cheddar Gorge and Caves Ltd. The number of visitors to the show caves has dropped from 400,000 per year in the 1980s to 150,000 in 2013. Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth, who manages the Longleat estate for the family trust, suggested building a 600-meter (2,000-foot) cable car with 18 gondolas. The cable car, which would cost about £10 million, would carry visitors from the entrance area directly to the top of the southside cliffs near the caves. The National Trust disagreed with the plan, saying it would ruin the view and reduce the quality of the experience, making the area feel more like an amusement park. Planning permission was expected in Spring 2014, with operations beginning in Spring 2016. In 2015, the financial feasibility of the project was still being studied.

Ecology

Important animals found in the gorge include dormice, yellow-necked mice, slowworms, adders, the rare large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion), and the small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene).

Wild birds that may be seen in Cheddar Gorge include peregrine falcons, buzzards, kestrels, ravens, and grasshopper warblers.

The plants in the area include species that grow in chalk grasslands, such as marjoram and wild thyme. The Cheddar pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), also called firewitch, only grows naturally in the gorge. It was once common but declined after people collected it. The gorge is also home to unique whitebeam trees. Rare plants found there include the nationally rare little robin geranium (Geranium purpureum), Cheddar bedstraw (Galium fleurotii), and nationally scarce species like slender tare (Vicia tenuissima), dwarf mouse-ear (Cerastium pumilum), and rock stonecrop (Sedum forsteranum). The gorge is one of the few places in England where the Welsh poppy (Papaver cambricum) grows naturally. It is also one of the few areas in southern Britain where lichens such as Solorina saccata, Squamaria cartilaginea, and Caloplaca cirrochroa can be found.

The gorge is an important place for whitebeam trees. In 2009, botanists from the Welsh National Herbarium studied whitebeams as part of a nationwide survey. They identified eight species, three of which were new to science. Nineteen trees with oval-shaped leaves were named the "Cheddar whitebeam" (Sorbus cheddarensis). Fifteen trees with roundish leaves and greyish brown bark were named the "Twin Cliffs whitebeam" (Sorbus eminentoides). Thirteen trees with long, narrow leaves were named the "Gough's Rock whitebeam" (Sorbus rupicoloides). The Cheddar whitebeam is unique to the gorge but is threatened by goats introduced to control tree growth and help rare plants like the Cheddar pink. Cuttings from the trees have been taken to be grafted and grown at the Welsh National Herbarium.

Longleat Estate has put up fences around much of its land and introduced goats as part of a program to support biodiversity. The goats were added to replace sheep that grazed in the gorge until the 1970s. The National Trust announced in March 2007 that it plans to use sheep on its side of the gorge for the same purpose. Before doing so, it will ask local residents and interested groups whether to fence the gorge or use cattle grids to keep sheep from wandering. A small group of feral Soay sheep already lives in the gorge.

Caves

The two main caves open to the public are located on the south side of the Gorge and are owned by the Longleat Estate. These caves, called Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave, are named after the people who discovered them. Both caves are famous for their unique rock formations. Some scientists believe the caves may have been used to age cheese long ago, before written history began.

Gough's Cave was discovered in 1903 and extends about 400 meters (437 yards) into the rock. It has many large rooms and rock formations. Cox's Cave was discovered earlier, in 1837, and is smaller. However, it has many detailed rock formations. In 2016, Cox's Cave was changed into an attraction called "Dreamhunters," which includes lights, videos, and special effects.

The Gorge has many caves that are home to groups of Greater and Lesser horseshoe bats. In 1999, a television show called Time Team on Channel 4 explored Cooper's Hole to look for signs of people who lived during the Paleolithic era.

These caves inspired the description of glittering caves called Aglarond in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers. In the story, Aglarond is later made into a new kingdom called Durin's Folk by a character named Gimli.

Some caves, including Gough's Old Cave, Great Oone's Hole, Saye's Hole, Soldier's Hole, and Sun Hole, are protected as ancient monuments. This means they are considered important places for studying history and archaeology.

Recreational use

Cliff Road (B3135), which passes through the Gorge, is a popular path for bicyclists. The road has a maximum slope of 16%. This climb was part of stage 6 in the 2011 Tour of Britain.

There are approximately 590 rock climbing routes on the South side of the Gorge. These routes are usually open to climbers from 1 October to 15 March each year. The North side has about 380 climbing routes. Most of this land is owned by the National Trust and is marked as Open Access land, which allows climbers to use it all year. Each route has a name and is listed in the British Mountaineering Council guidebook. Most climbs are "traditional," meaning climbers place their own safety equipment as they climb. Some routes are "sport" climbs, where metal bolts are already fixed in place. Climber Chris Bonington was the first person to complete the Coronation Street route in 1965.

Visitors to the Gorge have had accidents. Rescue teams, including mountain and cave rescue groups, often practice in the area. The Gorge is also used to train military helicopter pilots.

The Cheddar Man Museum of Prehistory, inspired by the discovery of ancient humans like Cheddar Man, displays information about the caves and their history. Exhibits include original flint tools and human remains found in the caves. The Visitors' Centre and Restaurant is a Modernist building designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe in 1934. Jellicoe was hired by the fifth Marquess of Bath to create a two-part structure with a rooftop pool. His design was influenced by International Modernist buildings, such as the De La Warr Pavilion. The building’s original design has been damaged. In the 1960s, the glass roof and pool were removed to add more seating. The structure was later covered with lower-quality materials. Michael Spens, in his book The Complete Landscape Designs and Gardens of Geoffrey Jellicoe, notes that the building is "now barely recognizable as a pioneer construction of the modern period."

A walking path called Jacob's Ladder runs along the top of the Gorge and connects back to the road. This path offers views of the Gorge. A caving experience is available in Gough's Cave. Jacob's Ladder is named after a Biblical story about a ladder to heaven. A watchtower at the top of the path provides a 360-degree view of the area and village. An open-top bus tour runs during the summer. Cheddar cheese is produced in the lower part of the Gorge.

In popular culture

In 1916, a scene from the movie Just a Girl was filmed at Cheddar Gorge. The actress, Daisy Burrell, had to fire a revolver while riding a pony, which ran away quickly. Burrell held on tightly, and filming had to stop for the rest of the morning. Parts of the 2025 horror film 28 Years Later were filmed at Cheddar Gorge.

In 1965, a climbing trip to the gorge by Chris Bonington, Tony Greenbank, and Mike Thompson was shown on the World of Sport television program.

Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave were mentioned by author J. R. R. Tolkien as the inspiration for the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Tolkien and his wife, Edith Tolkien, took their honeymoon in Clevedon, 10 miles northwest of the gorge.

The British artist, drag performer, academic, and RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 4 runner-up Michael John Atkins was inspired by the name of the landmark (which they visited many times as a child) to choose the name Cheddar Gorgeous for their drag persona.

A level of the 2006 video game Resistance: Fall of Man is set in Cheddar Gorge.

The English band The Troggs had their photo taken for the cover of their first album, From Nowhere, at Cheddar Caves.

External

• Source: Cheddar Caves and Gorge, a company that manages some of the tourist spots at Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
• Source: Information from the British Geological Survey about Cheddar Gorge
• Source: A website called Beautiful World that features Cheddar Gorge

Coordinates: 51°16′57″N 2°45′56″W / 51.282409°N 2.765460°W / 51.282409; -2.765460