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Although a public bridleway crosses our Nature Reserve, anyone leaving the bridleway to explore the cliff edge commits a trespass. However everyone with a Caves & Gorge Explorer Ticket is free to explore as much as they like. So, why not take a picnic and enjoy the finest views in Somerset. This 3 mile walk starts at the Lookout Tower, climbs to its highest point overlooking The Pinnacles and Horseshoe Bend, descends to Black Rock Gate, on reaching the road (B3135) turn left, go down the road for 200 yards before joining a footpath on the National Trust’s side of the Gorge, a short climb before a gentle descent, over a gate and down a gully, emerging behind Lion Rock. Please see Gorge Walk Map Wear clothing suitable for the weather, at 900 feet above sea level you will feel cooler when you stop, and wear walking boots since it is rocky underfoot and muddy when it rains. Please take care at cliff edges, keep dogs on a lead and follow The Country Code. Please see The Country Code |
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The land around Cheddar was a royal hunting forest from the time of the Saxon Kings of Wessex, who built a wooden "palace" at Cheddar. In 1204 King John gave the land to the Bishop of Bath & Wells, whose tenants cut down the trees to graze their sheep and goats. Sir John Thynne, Lord Bath’s ancestor who carried out Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, bought Cheddar Gorge in 1556 and grazing continued until the 1920s when it became uneconomic in such difficult terrain. Since then ivy and ash trees have taken root in the joints and bedding planes on the cliffs, accelerating natural climatic erosion by over 40 times, while gorse, bracken and thorn trees have grown rapidly on the plateau, shading out the limestone grassland and rare wildflowers like Cheddar Pink, Cheddar Bedstraw and Rock Stonecrop. The Gorge has been recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, as the finest example of karst limestone geology in Britain and for its rare remnant calcareous grassland. Please see SSSI citation Under Natura 2000 it was recognised as a Special Area of Conservation, the highest European wildlife designation, because it contains a large number of European Protected Species including bats, dormice and great crested newts. |
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During the Winter months, our RockSport Climbing Instructors abseil down our 450ft high cliffs removing invasive vegetation and bringing down loose rocks under controlled conditions. In 2005 we introduced a feral herd of Primitive British goats, endangered wild animals, to eat the scrub and open up areas for the grassland to recover. Our Conservation Officer and his team carry out Bat, Dormice and Water Vole Surveys, put out bat and dormice nesting boxes and lay down corrugated tin sheets for basking adders, sloworms and grass snakes. A greenhouse heater placed in Gough’s Old Cave helped a small Winter hibernacula of 40 Greater Horseshoe Bats increase to a year round breeding colony, nursery and hibernacula for over 400 individuals - the largest colony of the rarestmammals in Britain. Please see Safety & Accessibility | Please see Duration of Visit | Please see Cheddar Gorge Map |
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