Family Times


It's Half Term in Yorkshire, so we've had my Brother-in-Law + family to stay with us for the weekend. It's always lovely to see them and rediscover parts of the area we'd forgotten about, such as Cheddar Gorge yesterday (not to be confused with the game of the same name from the radio programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue!). The picture shows Lion Rock, one of the well-known features of the limestone cliffs that tower 450 feet above the floor of the gorge.
Most of the gorge is a very special place, being a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its karst limestone scenery and rare plants such as the Cheddar Pink. As it's limestone country, there are plenty of underground caverns and caves too. 6 of these are scheduled as ancient monuments as the remains of early British people have been found there (e.g. Cheddar Man from 9,000 years ago - DNA tests in 1997 revealed his descendents are alive and well in Cheddar!). Most of the 3 miles of the gorge has spectacular scenery, but unfortunately the village of Cheddar itself is rather spoilt as it's a bit of a tourist trap. We did manage to buy authentic Cheddar cheese sandwiches for lunch though, before wending our way back up the gorge. We finished the day with a scramble up the rocks then ice creams all round at Chew Valley Lake nearby - a great place for birdwatching.

Comments

  1. Neva11 February 2008 at 15:18

    Quite a bit of history I know nothing about! This is why I love blogging! It seems you get a lot of snow...is that usual? Other parts of England don't seem to be so snowy this year.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11 February 2008 at 15:44

    haha Clever me! I was just about to comment how much that rock looked like a lion! Just as well I read it. :o)
    I have always wanted to visit that area, it's not our half term til next week but unfortunately I can't ake any time off yet so for my youngest its a week with Grandma. (She is suitably over the moon about that! She loves her old granny grumble)
    Thanks for the visit VP. :o) You are not too far away from me are you? :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11 February 2008 at 19:21

    It sounds like you had a good day out with weather to match.
    It's a very long time since I've been to Cheddar Gorge and thereabouts but have have fond memories of when I did!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Threadspider11 February 2008 at 19:39

    Cheddar is on our list of Places To Visit this spring too. We are looking at a walk in the Mendips one weekend. Glad you got some real Cheddar cheese too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11 February 2008 at 22:32

    It certainly sounds as if you had a good weekend. Some time since I went to Cheddar Gorge and then it was a brief visit so must do the area justice one day. I find that having relatives or friends visiting is a great opportunity to explore what is on the doorstep and sometimes to see your home patch from a different perspective.

    ReplyDelete
  6. VP14 February 2008 at 19:43

    Hi Neva - no we've not had much snow down here, though there's been a bit up north this year. I love blogging too!

    Daffy - well spotted. Sadly I'm not in the north-east anymore :(, though get to visit often :)

    Flighty - we had a great day. My niece and nephew are both still at the age when they think their auntie is brillaiant and cool!

    Threadspider - I think a Gorge walk would be excellent training for your holiday!

    Anna - well said. I'm also finding that blogging's making me see things afresh too. I'm enjoying introducing (or reintroducing) my home patch to you!

    ReplyDelete

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