UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions

Early on the fifth day of our Somerset holiday we drove up to Cheddar Caves and Gorge, the deepest Gorge in Britain!  Ooo ar!

After an expensive coffee in the Explorers Café-bar we ventured into Gough's Cave armed with our Audioguide handset for the commentary.
 

Brrr!  It was chilly in Gough's Cave and Mike was glad of his jacket.

After wandering through various areas in Gough's Cave admiring all the rock formations we came out into a large cavern with well illuminated stalactites and stalagmites.  Wow!  We thought it very well presented and well worth the visit.
 

Back out in the hot sunshine we wandered across to look at the Cheddar Man and Cannibals Museum.

Next up was Cox's cave where we observed some great reflections of the rock formations in the water and an awesome light display to finish.  Please see our UK tourist links page for the Cheddar Caves and Gorge website.
 

Jacobs Ladder has 274 steps from the Gorge bottom to the cliffs top.  There's a number of rest areas on the way up with info boards to read.  At the top we...

...had more climbing to do up the Lookout Tower where we had a great view on this clear day across Cheddar Gorge and the Somerset Levels.
 

There's a three mile cliff top Gorge walk, through a nature reserve.  The walk was rather rocky in places, but afforded stunning views of the Somerset countryside.  We spotted Glastonbury Tor in the distance where we were going the next day.

Phew!  A puffed Mike on the way down Jacobs Ladder.  Well, it was a hot day.  See our Cheddar video.
 

After a cooling Ice Cream our final bit at Cheddar Gorge was a topless tour bus ride, complete with live commentary about all the landmarks which we filmed with our new camcorder.  Our Caves and Gorge Explorer ticket cost £9.25.

Our final day in Somerset and another hot one!  Here's Belinda about to climb up to Glastonbury Tor after we enjoyed a coffee in the Rural Life Museum.  The tower looks like it's only half way up the hill, but is, in fact, right at the very top!
 

Glastonbury Tor is at the pinnacle of Somerset myths and legends and was very popular, many others were climbing up to the tower too.  Various Glastonbury and Somerset websites are on our UK tourist links page.

Mike almost at the top of the Tor.
 

That's Belinda framed by the arch of the Tor tower.  Tor video clip.

At the Glastonbury Tor viewpoint we could see plenty Somerset countryside and this plate gives distances to landmarks we could spot.  As it was such a clear day we spotted many.  It was a bit windy on top of Glastonbury Tor though.
 

After a picnic lunch on the way down from the Tor we visited the Chalice Well Gardens (entrance £3) in Glastonbury and just chilled in the natural beauty of this peaceful place.

Our week in Somerset started off in the cool 20s, but just got hotter and hotter as it went on and finished up in the early 30s.  Time for a cooling drink in the pub then!  Ooo ar!
 

Finally we visited Glastonbury Abbey (£4 entrance) and here's the old ruins and the Abbey.

There was a guided tour round the Abbey but we choose to make our own pace round the 36 acres.
 

We took tons of pictures at Glastonbury Abbey, after which we returned to the holiday cottage and enjoyed another excellent meal at the local Indian restaurant in the evening.

Our very final Somerset visit was to Sheppy's Cider Farm near Taunton next day on our way back home (well, out of our way really, but worth the detour!).  We had a wonderful week in Somerset and once again enjoyed some fine West Country weather.

Check out Somerset websites on our UK tourist links.