At this time of year a highlight on the village calendar, and great for cottage guests too, is the Cheddar Festive Night. Now well established and very popular for people from a good distance around, the main village road, up to the lower gorge is shut for the evening. Stalls and events all pop up. Decorations twinkle. IT feels that the Christmas season has well and truly started.

But this is not a usual year. The Festive Night was of course cancelled a long time ago. However the creative people at Cheddar Arts have been promoting an alternative to lift spirits. They call it Cheddar Winter Window Wanderland. Homes around Cheddar, and even some temporarily closed stores in the Lower Gorge, have been busy decorating their windows with tissue paper and silhouettes. And today, Sunday 6th, and for the next 14 evenings between 6pm and 9pm, people can wander the village (map and addresses supplied - over 200 participants) and marvel at the creativity of the many. All COVID safe, in our little groups outdoors.

And today is that start, and we signed up alongside so many others. We're looking forward over the next two weeks to wander around and see what everyone else has done. And here for you is our little offering. Firstly the house and cottage in their usual Christmas lights and then the main house window with our contribution. In our case a vague theme of ecological wonderment with seasonal twists. In the centre the pale blue orb that is our precious planet, with Father Christmas flying over. And, yes, that is a penguin too ... our younger daughter (now 30) has loved penguins since she could talk! We also appreciate the surreal situation, Escher-esque, of animals on the Earth looking at ... the Earth. Hmmm.

And for all of you coping with the trials of this tough year, we wish everyone a safe, peaceful and hopefully nurturing seasonal time, including all cottage guests, past and future.

Huw and Mary

No, sadly we're not talking about the end of the COVID crisis. We are talking about a real tunnel.

One of the lovely adventures to undertake whilst staying at Gorge View Cottage, or visiting Cheddar, is to cycle along the old Strawberry Line trackbed. From Cheddar is goes to Axbridge, and here is about the only stretch on road as you get routed through the centre of Axbridge (2.5 miles from Cheddar) through the medieval town square and past St John's Hunting Lodge. What follows is the only steep-ish bit, back up to the course of the old railway line. Thereafter, with the occasional well organised road crossings it is flat or a gentle gradient.

The next main stop is Winscombe (5 miles from Cheddar), on the north side of the Mendips at it is on this section that the tunnel comes in, as it cuts under the Mendip ridge. As you see from the photograph it is straight and you can always see the far exit. But at 165m long, in the middle it can seem very dark. Solar lighting put in seems flakey so best to take bike lights or a head torch.

If you still have energy (remembering you must return this way too) then the next main stop just 1.5 miles further on is Sandford. Here a stop is definitely recommended because as the route now jinks through the orchards of Thatchers Cider, you can stop at the recently renovated Railway Inn which as the Thatchers HQ "tap" serves a wide range of ciders, alongside great food. Or pop a tad further along the road to visit the Thatchers shop  - local produce and ... well, yes, ... more ciders to taste.

The really keen might want to go the whole way. That gets you the full 11 miles from the cottage to Yatton station, which is on the mainline, from Bristol to Exeter and beyond. The Strawberry Line Cafe at Yatton station is itself worth a stop, run as a community cafe and provides work experience and training to adults with learning difficulties.

The Strawberry Line (National Cycle Route 26) takes its name from the strawberries that were taken to London by train in vast quantities back in the very early 1900s. The rolling stock was especially gentle sprung to protect the fruit. This all came to an end with the Beeching cuts of 1962. There are plans to one day extend it through to Wells and Shepton Mallett, and spurs to Clevedon and to Wrington. Slow work but it will be magical when done.
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Guests at Gorge View Cottage are welcome to borrow a couple of reasonable 21-gear bikes, one for ladies and one for gentlemen. We have helmets and can provide lights if needed. If you are not cyclists then the other option is to bus out (First Bus route 126 towards Weston-Super-Mare) and walk back. The bus can drop you at Axbridge, Winscombe or the Railway Inn in Sandford. Cheddar Walking walk #4 describes this, from Winscombe to Cheddar.

With the UK lockdown still in force over this Bank Holiday (i.e. National Holiday) long-weekend, there have been concerns people will be tempted to flout the requirements and come to beauty spots and beaches to enjoy themselves despite the constraints. And so last weekend and this, police have closed the road through Cheddar Gorge to all traffic, save local walkers and cyclists.

And so when I went out for a short cycle ride as part of my daily (allowed) exercise, I thought to cycle up the gorge. Now it is all uphill and steep in parts. I am no super-fit person, and certainly not a MAMIL (middle-aged man in Lycra). I did it slowly and used the cunning excuse of stopping to take a photo as I went (and catch my breath). And the reason I wanted to take some photos is that I have never seen the gorge this quiet on a sunny spring day. No cars, and no people (save the odd cyclist passing by). Just very loud birdsong, some very content wild goats and stunning views. So I thought to put them here for everyone to see.

It can be easy to forget just how lucky we are to be just a minute or two, literally from some spectacular and beautiful scenery.

Take care and stay safe.

Dateline: 19 March 2020

These are indeed extraordinary times. A global pandemic that is affecting people and countries around the world. Every day seems to see new developments in policy and guidance. We felt it important to update on where we stand at Gorge View Cottage. But to reassure: we are open for business.




Cleaning and hygiene
We are being scrupulous in the cleaning and turnaround of the cottage. We are firstly steam cleaning everywhere, followed by a cleaning of surfaces etc using a sanitising cleaner. And we finally clean door handles, the key and fob, and the TV control with Isopropyl alcohol. The cottage is only cleaned by Huw and/or Mary. We wash hands thoroughly every time before entering the cottage to clean, or carry on cleaning, and after leaving the cottage. We are fastidious about not touching our faces between entering and leaving. When you arrive we will be our usual welcoming and friendly selves but will be avoiding shaking hands or getting too close. And to be clear, neither of us has any symptoms that might suggest we have the virus, and we are certainly being careful ourselves with social distancing.

Shared space?
The cottage itself is wholly detached and independent. There are no shared spaces, it is entirely for you. In this respect we think it is a great place to continue any personal social distancing.

Food and supplies
Of course the cottage has everything you need to self-cater. You might want to bring all you own food and be completely self-contained. In Cheddar, within easy walking distance, there are convenience stores, specialist food stores, a Deli, and a Tesco Local and the main Sainsbury's store. As of today the Sainsbury's was generally well stocked and working normally, although of course they are asking that people limit shopping and don't mass-buy. The pubs are open at the moment, but naturally quiet which helps ensure social distancing if you should choose to go. Likewise the restaurants, but useful most restaurants do takeaway and some deliver. For Pizza, Chinese, Thai, Indian or Fish and Chips there are plenty of options, and all just two or three minutes away.
We also have a brilliant local grocery delivery company we've recommended and used for years: Somerset Local Food Direct. They deliver orders in Cheddar each week on Thursday or Friday - so you can order ahead online (before the Tuesday morning deadline) and have the food delivered to the cottage. They supply fresh vegetables and fruit, meats, dairy, grocery and deli goods, bakery items, ready meals and larder stock. Its pretty extensive and a lot of it is organic. If this is before you arrive we'll handle it and ensure it is stocked in the the cottage and if appropriate in the fridge/freezer, for your arrival. Currently they re finding they're getting a lot of extra traffic but seem to be coping: supplies are fine but manpower to deliver is stretching them and we and others locally are on hand to help.

What to do?
The obvious thing in these times is the walking. There are many lovely walks in and around Cheddar and we have maps and self-guide walking sheets for many of them. You can keep fit, stay socially distanced from anyone you pass, and enjoy this beautiful part of the world. Check out Cheddar Walking website for some ideas - walks ranging from 1/2 mile to 20 miles and everything in-between. Some on the flat, some up the hills. And we have the bikes if you should want to cycle off along the Strawberry Line old railway track and path.
The other options such as Cheddar caves are currently open but we suggest you check this and other visitor attractions online to be sure.

Stay safe, stay well
We hope this addresses some obvious questions, but if you are booked with us, or are thinking of booking, and have other questions then do please get in touch.

Huw and Mary

Apart from the good fortune of being here in the lower Cheddar Gorge, we are also lucky to be near some outstanding locations. One of those is Wells, England's smallest city and, yes, it therefore has a remarkable and beautiful cathedral. It also has some exceptional old buildings and architecture around the town, a lovely market place, which twice a week holds great markets, and a good array of independent shops. There is also the Bishop's Palace, where the Bishop of Bath and Wells is based (Bath can only boast an Abbey). And all of this in a very compact and easily walkable centre, with the backdrop of the Mendip Hills in the distance.

As the name suggests the city is founded around three wells near the cathedral which provide copious water ultimately sourced from the limestone Mendip Hills. The excess is often allowed to flow down the especially wide gutters of the main street keeping them clean and clear - just watch where you step or you get a wet foot.

So it was not a surprise, but certainly something to be proud of, that this gem of a "city", just 11,000 in population, has just topped the Which? (independent consumer organisation) list of best smaller short-break towns and cities in Britain.

If you stay at Gorge View Cottage, then Well's is just a 9-mile, 20-minute run in a car along the main road at the foot of the Mendip range. A more interesting route is to go up the gorge and over the top of the Mendips via the lovely village of Priddy, down past Ebbor Gorge (a lovely traffic-free walk), via Wookey Hole (more caves) to Wells. Better still there is the First Bus 126 service, and for those feeling like a great walk, you can bus to Well's, explore it a little and then walk back along the very well marked West Mendip Way (about 12 miles).

Tsk, tsk, another gap in blogging. Note to self ... try and make time

So yes, life has been busy, and the cottage is still getting lots of lovely guests and consistently lovely comments and reviews. And suddenly here we are at Halloween with Christmas on the horizon. Here in Cheddar for the last good few years, the festive season starts early. The first Friday in December has now become the tradition that is Cheddar Festive Night. The best bit of this is that the whole of the lower gorge road (The Cliffs) and the road on down in to the village (Cliff Street) is closed off for the evening.

And then up and down that route lots of people, of course mostly local at that time of year, come to Cheddar to enjoy a host of Christmassy stalls, events and entertainment. Much of it is raising money for good causes and it can vary from commercial craft stalls through to a small charity setting up a mulled wine stall on a table outside a house. So quite "home-made" and parochial in places, but that gives it real charm.

Just wandering the lower gorge without the normal traffic is a treat. Indeed although traffic is not formally banned, the main (upper) gorge road is not a through route and so traffic stops, and that makes for a noter possibility for the fit (although in the dark not so wonderful).

And most all the good shops are open with Xmas offering - lots of tasters, lots of samples. For those getting to the top of the route earlier on, you can get in to Cheddar's main caves for just £5 (all going to charity)

So if you happen to be in the area (or indeed maybe even choosing to stay at the cottage), this Friday 6th December is a good event to aim for.

Three years ago the AONB and Sedgemoor District Council invited interested parties to a meeting: they wanted to challenge Cheddar to become a fully fledged Walkers are Welcome destination. We were up for it and so Gorge View Cottage became a founding member of what became Cheddar Walking. And in record time we got our accreditation and launched. 
Three years on and the steering group has achieved a lot to be proud of: 10 fully tested walks with self-guide walking sheets published (downloadable for free from the website or for a small donation pre-printed from the National Trust Shop); 45,000 downloads to date and over 6,000 printed copies bought; then we've supported 3 local festivals with guided walking activities (and we're set to help again with the 2019 National Trust's Top of the Gorge Festival in its third year); and this month we finally completed a long project to fund, design and install three promotional information boards (or as we prefer to call then - "inspiration boards") laying out the 10 walks.
The walks vary from a 30 minute loop on mostly lanes, to the challenging 20-mile section of the West Mendip Way from the coast (Weston-Super-Mare) to Cheddar (you can bus out and walk back).
Anyone coming to stay at Gorge View Cottage gets all these walks in a folder along with many others from the AONB, National Trust, RSPB and Somerset Wildlife Trust. Pop a walk sheet out for the day and then pop it back for the next guests. And all these walks can be done without any car being involved. In fact probably 70% or more of our guests do at least one walk and almost all of them thoroughly enjoy and recommend them. The Mendip Hills, the Gorge and the Levels all have something for everyone.

And a big thank you to the wonderful Cafe Gorge and excellent Cheddar Medical Centre for allowing us to place these information boards on their railings for all the visitors and community to see and get inspired to walk a little.

Last weekend, as we have done for many of the last years, we were able to pop down to South Somerset for one of the loveliest day festivals we know: The Green Scythe Fair. Even the 50 minute cross-country run to it is beautiful, across the levels and up over High Ham to Langport, the wonderfully named Huish Episcopi and through the village Muchelney to Thorney Lakes. The last miles of lanes via Mulchelney were made famous during the heavy flooding of the Somerset Levels back in 2014 - the tiny village was cut off with boats needed to ferry people in and out of the village for over a week.

The fair itself is set in one large grass meadowy field where the grass has been allowed to grow nice and long. The centre of the field is set aside for scything competitions and the wide edge is lined with all sorts of stalls selling green crafts, local foods, almost all of it with an environmental or ethical foundation. A couple of tiny stages host small fun bands, and they usually have a afternoon debate tackling subjects with strong emotions on both sides. Power is all solar generated, loos are composting toilets (and very nicely kept).

This year, for the first time, the success of the fair led to it being closed to entry for a couple of hours after midday as the visitors hit maximum (5,000!) and the car queuing in the approaching lanes got dangerous. Next year they'll think this through better. Of course the preferred option is to get there by environmental means and in the past we've part-cycled. This year we went electric vehicle of course and they even had solar car charging available!

Luckily every time we've been it has been warm, usually sunny and (critically for the scything) dry! And the scything lies at the heart of it all. Lots of competitions to scythe a fixed area in races, heats and finals. Semi-professionals and complete amateurs; men, women and even children having a go (but safely). Education and workshops on the different types of scythe, and of course you can buy them and the bits to maintain them at some stalls). In competition points are given not just for speed, but style and quality of cut.

This of course generates a lot of freshly cut grass and hay. So there are pitchforking competitions, hay stacking, hay sculptures, and the many kids have a  great deal of fun building hay dens or just throwing the stuff around. Probably the one type of person who might hate all of this is anyone with bad hay fever!

We'll be going next year, and if you wanted to go then you can camp at the site (there is a very tidy permanent camping site right beside the fair), or of course you could stay at Gorge View Cottage and pootle down yourself.

"Cheddar Man" is pretty famous because the nearly-full skeleton discovered in Cheddar Caves over 100 years ago is the oldest example of Homo Sapiens ever found in Britain. How old is he? Well just around 10,000 years. As part of the Cheddar Caves attraction there is a bloke who dress up in old skins and a wild wig (in my mind a cross between Fred Flintstone and a Monty Python character). Entertaining and importantly a fun reminder of the deep pre-history of this place.

But now we have more information due to very recent DNA testing, and to be revealed in a new documentary on Channel 4 on 18th February ("First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man"). Before I look at the big news story today as part of the fanfare for the documentary, it needs to be pointed out that DNA testing of the skeleton has already thrown up a fascinating fact. DNA from Cheddar Man was compared with local testing of residents. And amazingly there were two exact matches with two children in the village, and an almost exact match (just a single mutation away) with the history teacher in the local school. Indeed our children's history teacher. It cannot get much better than that for your teacher to be a direct descendent!

But the earlier idea of what Cheddar Man might have looked like is harder. Of course wearing animal skins, but what of skins, hair and eyes? Research for the new documentary was funded by the Natural History Museum in London, and from that they realise that far from the fair-skinned, brown-eyed, fair-haired examples of reconstruction to date, in fact the new  and more precise reconstruction shows Cheddar man to have blue eyes, set in a very dark-skinned face and with dark curly hair. All very surprising but somehow wonderful.

I'd love to include a picture here but at the moment the images are very much copyrighted and as and when I can get a photo from the exhibit in the NHM I'll add it to this post. meanwhile you can see it, and learn a bit more on this good Guardian Online article. 

If you are staying at the cottage, whilst there is plenty to do within walking distance, the one "must do" day trip for guests is a visit to Wells - England's smallest city. Just 9 miles away it is either a short drive or there is an excellent bus service - the First Bus service 126 - taking less than 30 minutes and running hourly. Very fit souls might choose to cycle, and there is even a "bus out, walk back" option using a self-guide route using the West Mendip Way.

Not only do you have the cathedral which marks Wells as a city in the first place and the home of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, it also very compact. it is easy to wander from the cathedral green, along the oldest residential street in the UK (Vicar's Close) with stunning medieval architecture, across to the grounds of the Bishop's Palace, or through the often bustling market place to sample the many independent shops along the High Street and beyond.

Lovely eateries (The Good Earth being our favourite), a good range of pubs and cafes, and now a small micro pub (Just Ales). Good for charity shops too!

We go there often - usually to coincide with the Saturday or Wednesday markets. And almost everyone who does go enjoys it. For a good article on what to see and do check out this web article on the London-based Weekendr website: "24 Hours In: Wells".