Cheddar Gorge

Cheddar Gorge is a beautiful valley with a typical karst character. It has many caves and other karst features. Limestone cliffs reach up 150m from the valley floor and the road leading down the valley is steep, narrow and winding. The caves are located at the lower end of the gorge, near the town of Cheddar.

The name Cheddar is always connected with the Cheddar cheese. And really, this is the place where the cheese comes from. And to make it complete, the cheese is really much connected to the karst: the karst areas are not suitable for more than feeding cows, and the caves and cellars in the limestone are an ideal place to store and mature the cheese.

During the excavations at Gough's Cave, at Cheddar, in 1927–28, human bones were recovered, all of which had been split in a manner resembling the way animal bones are opened to get at the marrow. Skull fragments found there from five individuals showed fractures that appeared to have been made when the bone was still fresh. Further excavations in 1986–87 produced about 120 human cranial and postcranial remains from a small area near the entrance of the cave. The remains represented at least five individuals, consisting of three adults and two children.



In Search of Cheddar Man