As some of you may know from earlier blogs Gorge View Cottage was a founding supporter of the Cheddar Walking initiative. It was set up from scratch last year to help gain "Walkers are Welcome" accreditation for the village (which it duly did), and to encourage visitors and the local community to enjoy more of the lovely local walks - long and short, flat and hilly, focused on history, nature, geology and more.

One target was to get a walking festival going and we have done just that in collaboration with the Mendip Ramblers. They hold a free three-day festival every year somewhere in the area, over the August Bank Holiday weekend, and yet had never held one in Cheddar. So a perfect opportunity for us to help the Ramblers with local walking knowledge and with venues and parking. This was a great chance for us in the steering group to learn what is involved from the very experienced Ramblers group.

It was by all counts a real success with very strong numbers turning up to enjoy themselves. Over 325 walkers went out on 12 walks over the three days. Each day three walks set of in the morning (15, 11 and 7 miles approximately) and in the afternoon a shorter 5 to 6 mile walk was led out. People came from far and wide to take part, stay locally and enjoy not only the walks but the beautiful countryside, views, and warm welcome from local businesses and hostelries.

Of course you don't have to wait for a festival to enjoy the walking here: Cheddar Walking has developed a range of self-guiding walk sheets for anyone to use - you can download them here.

I am at risk of becoming a video blog bore as I feel I must post another two videos of recent four legged visitors. This spate of night camera positioning came after a delightful discovery of not one but two hedgehogs. Driving up at 9.30 in the evening after dinner out with our visiting daughter and husband she spotted a hedgehog in our drive. I am glad she did as reversing in could have been a bit deadly. Mary duly picked the wee beastie up and plonked it in our garden the other side of the gate. At first it wanted to go back on to the drive but the gate seemed to block it.

Just a few minutes later whilst studying the first we noticed a second hedgehog also nearby the gate. This was becoming bizarre. But because they kept trying to move through the gate to the drive, Mary once again picked them up (and yes they are very prickly) and huffing and snorting (the hedgehogs not Mary) she took them much deeper in to the garden and fed them a little cat food we keep.

And so I set up my trail camera on the patio/gate area to see if they would return and try and escape that way. And sure enough we caught some lovely videos, one below, with the long spindly legs of a hedgehog-in-motion very nicely shown.

Next morning we did check with our lovely neighbour, June, who works at Prickles Hedgehog Rescue (the charity we support from each cottage booking). She had mentioned just the day before that she had homed two or three new hedgehogs because Prickles was desperate to move some recovered hedgehogs out. Were these our visitors? It seems not because hers were still in their boxes.

And finally the video also caught another regular visitor - well another pair. Two of the young badgers. We'd wondered where they come from to go through our garden - and clearly it is the lane. One of them has a little trouble gate vaulting, but they are surprisingly nimble.

Do enjoy these two videos.