Today, Cheddar village of Cheddar underground Gorge and the nearby is home to clifftop walks, caves (in which cheddar is matured!) and vibrant local businesses. For a perfect day, you can wander round the village, pick up a cheese sandwich made with what is delightfully referred to on every other shop sign as "genuine cheddar," and head up the cliffs for a beautiful walk.
We spoke to people who live and work in Cheddar about what makes the Cheddar Gorge so special.
PAUL HEMINGTON
Paul, 57, is the Assistant Operations Manager at Cheddar Gorge and Caves cheddargorge.co.uk
I moved to Somerset mainly for my family. My daughter was getting married and I didn’t want to live six hours away, so we made the move. Once we moved, we were made redundant and it was a mad scramble to get work. I ended up at here at Cheddar Gorge and Caves.
Cheddar Gorge is like nothing else in the UK. It’s a unique phenomenon, because although there are other caves in the country, you don’t have the gorge elsewhere. This is a major geological feature, it’s three miles long and there’s just this natural, raw beauty. I can sit at my desk in guest services and look out at part of the gorge. It’s amazing.
The Cheddar Gorge spirit is strong. You know, not having worked here or heard about the area, you come here and it gets under your skin in the right way. You become part of it, it becomes part of you. I’m very passionate about it. And there’s the amazing wildlife, the geology, the prehistory—Cheddar Man is still one of the greatest finds in the UK.
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