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Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom

Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom^[1] near the village of Cheddar in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903.^[2] Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000 - 13,000 years ago) have been found.^[3] The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites.

The gorge, including the caves and other features and attractions located there, have become a popular tourist destination. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, following its appearance on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders, Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by Dan yr Ogof caves.^[4] The gorge attracts about 500,000 visitors per year.^[5]

The gorge is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest now called Cheddar Complex.^[6] The rocks of the gorge are Carboniferous Limestone, which contain ooliths and fossil debris, on top of Old Red Sandstone.^[7] The maximum depth of the gorge is 113 metres (371 ft). Much of the gorge has no river until the underground Cheddar Yeo emerges in the lower part from Gough's Cave. The river is used to supply the nearby Cheddar Reservoir via a 54 inches (1.4 m) water pipe that takes water just upstream from the Rotary Club Sensory Garden.

The gorge has a near-vertical cliff-face to the south, and steep grassy slopes to the north. It shows characteristics of a river-formed valley. The lack of water is expected since limestone is permeable. The gorge was formed in the ice age when any water in the limestone froze, making the rock temporarily impermeable. Torrents of melt water gradually eroded the rock away to form the gorge. After the ice age the limestone thawed and became permeable again, so that any water on the surface seeped into the rock, leaving behind a dry valley. Evidence for Variscan orogeny is seen in the sheared rock and cleaved shales. Dolomitic Conglomerate can be seen in the bottom of an ancient Triassic valley.^[7]

The south side of the gorge is owned and administered by the Marquess of Bath's Longleat Estate. The cliffs on the north side of the gorge are owned by The National Trust. Every year both of the gorge's owners contribute funds towards the clearance of scrub bush and trees from the area. Longleat Estate has fenced off a large part of its land and has introduced goats, as part of a program to encourage the biodiversity of the area; the goats were intended to replace the sheep that grazed in the gorge until the 1970s.^[8] The National Trust announced in March 2007 that they plan to release a flock of sheep on its side of the gorge for the same purpose, but will first consult local residents and interested parties on whether to fence off the gorge or introduce cattle grids to prevent the sheep from straying.^[9] There is already a small flock of feral Soay sheep in the gorge. Other notable species at the gorge include dormice, yellow-necked mice, slow worms, adders, whitebeams, chalk grassland-loving species such as marjoram and wild thyme, and the rare large blue butterfly.^[10]

Visitors to the gorge have experienced a number of accidents.^[11][12] Rescue services, including local mountain rescue and cave rescue groups, frequently use the gorge to stage exercises. It is also used as a training location for military rescue helicopter pilots.^[13]

There are about 350 officially graded climbing routes on the 27 cliffs that make up Cheddar Gorge, which are generally open to climbers between 1 October and 15 March each year. Each of the routes is named and included in the British Mountaineering Council guidebook. Climber Chris Bonnington was the first to scale the "Coronation Street route" in 1965.^[14]

Stalagmites and Stalactites in Gough's cave

Two main caves are open to the public - the extensive Gough's Cave and the smaller Cox's Cave, named respectively after their discoverers. Both are known for their geology, and it has been suggested that the caves were the site of prehistoric cheese-making.^[15]

Gough's cave, which was discovered in 1903,^[16] leads around 1/4 mile (400 metres) into the rock-face, and contains a variety of large rock chambers and formations. Cox's cave, discovered in 1837,^[17] is smaller but contains many intricate formations. A further cave houses a children's entertainment known as the "Crystal Quest"^[18]. The Gorge's many caves are home to colonies of Greater and Lesser horsehoe bats.^[19]

A museum inspired by the discovery of ancient hominids such as Cheddar Man in the caves contains information about the caves' findings and their paleontological development. There is a clifftop walk from Jacob's Ladder along the crest of the gorge and back to the road, with views of the gorge. A caving experience is offered within Gough's Cave. There is a path of 274 steps, built up the side of the gorge, known as Jacob's Ladder after the Biblical description of a ladder to the heavens. A watchtower at the top provides a 360 degree view of the entire area and village. An open-top bus tour operates during the summer. Cheddar cheese is made in the lower part of the gorge.

View of Cheddar Village, reservoir, Batts Combe quarry and gorge taken from the watchtower at the top of Jacob's Ladder

• Geology of the United Kingdom
• Seven Natural Wonders

• Cheddar Caves and Gorge
• Extensive visitor information and photographs - virtualtourist.com
• map of Cheddar Gorge circa 1900

Coordinates: 51°16′57″N 2°45′56″W / 51.282409, -2.76546