Cheddar Gorge

Cheddar Gorge: Britain’s Largest Gorge and the Bones Beneath It

The oldest complete human skeleton found in Britain was discovered in Gough’s Cave in 1903. Cheddar Man, as he was named, died around 9,000 years ago and his remains, now held at the Natural History Museum, were DNA-tested in 2018: he had dark skin, blue or green eyes, and dark curly hair. He also had a living descendant teaching history at a school in Cheddar village, identified through DNA matching. The cave where he was found is the same cave you can walk through today, which gives Gough’s Cave a slightly different weight than the usual stalactite-and-guided-tour experience.

The gorge itself is the largest in Britain: 137 metres of limestone cliffs rising sharply above a road that runs through the bottom. The geological process was water - not a river but underground drainage that dissolved the limestone from below, then collapsed. The surrounding Somerset Levels are riddled with similar cave systems. Cheddar is simply the place where the ceiling came down in a way that left walls above ground.

What to Visit

Gough’s Cave is the main underground attraction. The cave system includes the underground river, stalactite and stalagmite formations, and - in the Museum of Prehistory at the cave entrance - the Cheddar Man bones and the archaeological context around them. The audio tour included with entry is better than average and takes the history seriously.

Cox’s Cave and Yeo’s Journey next door is smaller and more dramatically lit, with a cinematic element that makes it better for younger children. The two caves together give different perspectives on what the underground looks like in this part of Somerset.

Jacob’s Ladder is a 274-step climb up the cliff face to the clifftop walkway, with views down the gorge and across to the Somerset Levels. The clifftop walk itself (the Gorge Walk) continues for several kilometres along the rim and can be done independently without paying the site entry fee - access via the public footpaths from the top of Jacob’s Ladder is free from outside the village. This is worth knowing if you want the views without the caves.

The Lookout Tower at the top of Jacob’s Ladder extends the view further and on clear days makes the structure of the Somerset Levels visible all the way to the Bristol Channel.

Day Ticket pricing in 2026 is £20.95 for adults, £15.70 for children, covering all six attractions including Gough’s Cave with audio tour, Museum of Prehistory, Cox’s Cave, Jacob’s Ladder, the Lookout Tower, and the Gorge Walk. The site opens at 10:00 daily with last entry at 16:30 (17:30 at summer weekends).

The Cheese

Cheddar cheese was being made in the caves of this gorge as early as the 12th century. The constant temperature and humidity underground is nearly ideal for aging hard cheese; Henry II ordered 10,000 pounds of it for the royal household in 1170. Several local producers still age their cheese in the gorge, and the village shops selling it are not purely tourist theatre - the cave-aged versions have a noticeably different texture and flavour from supermarket cheddar. Tasting both side by side is an argument for buying something to take home.

Where to Eat

The cafes in the gorge village are functional rather than remarkable. The better lunch options are either a picnic from the village shops (cheese, Somerset apple juice, local bread) taken up to the clifftop, or driving to the nearby market towns of Wells or Axbridge for better food. The Bath Arms at the Longleat Estate end of the B3135 does solid pub food worth stopping for on a longer Somerset day.

Where to Stay

The Oak House Hotel is the comfortable mid-range option in Cheddar village, with some rooms overlooking the gorge entrance. For walkers, the Mendip Hills surrounding the gorge have self-catering cottages and B&Bs that put you in the landscape rather than adjacent to the tourist strip.

Wells, six miles east, is the better base for multiple days in the area: a cathedral city with good restaurants, a bishop’s palace, and the medieval market place that feels genuinely inhabited rather than preserved. The cathedral is 12th-century and its west facade retains more original medieval sculpture than almost any other in England.

Getting There

Cheddar Gorge is easiest by car: a 30-minute drive from Bristol or 20 minutes from Wells. The A371 from Wells and the B3135 from the north are both well-signed. Parking is available in the village at multiple points but fills on summer weekends. Bus service runs from Bristol (Wells bus route 126) to Cheddar village, though frequency is limited - check current timetables. From Bath, a car is more practical than public transport.