Cheddar Gorge — A Hidden Treasure

On a visit to England’s West Country, it’s easy to miss the village of Cheddar, tucked away at the foot of the Mendip Hills, 18 miles southwest of Bristol. But this picturesque gem, hidden deep in rural Somerset, is a trove of touristic treasure and well worth the effort of swinging off the main highway. Behind the village, cleaving into the Mendips, is the world-famous Cheddar Gorge — three miles of sheer limestone cliffs that soar 450 feet on either side of the snaking road. The Gorge was formed by meltwater floods over hundreds of thousands of years.