Cheddar

Market gardening near Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cultivated slopes face southwest so that they receive more heat from the sun, particularly in the afternoon. This area, in the southwest of England, has a mild climate as a result of the North Atlantic Drift, and the mix of clay and limestone in the bedrock helps produce fertile soil.

Cheddar Gorge is a steep, narrow limestone gorge. Gorges are formed in many ways: by caves collapsing, by waterfalls retreating, and by rapid river erosion. Cheddar Gorge was formed by rapid river erosion about 18,000 years ago. As glaciers over Britain melted, huge volumes of melt water were able to erode resistant rocks, such as limestone. The winding road that now runs through the gorge marks the position of the melt water river.

Cheddar Gorge, in the Mendip Hills, is a steep, narrow gorge formed in limestone. It was formed about 18,000 years ago by rapid river erosion, caused by the melting of glaciers. The winding road that now runs through the gorge marks the position of the melt water river.

Town in Somerset, southwest England, in the Mendip Hills, 32 km/20 mi southwest of Bristol; population (2001) 2,600. It gives its name to Cheddar cheese, a hard variety first produced here around the beginning of the 12th century. Nearby are the limestone Cheddar Gorge and caves, owned by the National Trust. Tourism is important and the village is part of an agricultural, market-gardening, and strawberry-growing district.

Features St Andrew's Church was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. Cheddar Reservoir, about 3 km/2 mi in circumference, lies to the west of the village. Archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence of prehistoric, Stone Age, Saxon, and Roman occupation in the area. Roman lead-mines have been found on the Mendip Hills near Cheddar, and in 1962 the site of a Saxon palace was discovered nearby. The 10,000 year-old skeleton of Cheddar Man, who lived in the gorge at the end of the last Ice Age, is on display in the museum.

Cheddar Gorge and caves Limestone cliffs rise to nearly 150 m/490 ft on either side of Cheddar Gorge; 274 steps known as Jacob's Ladder lead to the cliff-top. The caves beneath the gorge, including Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave, have complex and richly coloured stalactites and stalagmites. Stone Age communities are believed to have lived in Gough's Cave.