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).

Since we started with Gorge View Cottage we have donated £10 to charity for every booking we take. Initially we picked Prickles Hedgehog Rescue as our chosen charity and more recently we added The Mendip Hills Fund.

Prickles is a very local Cheddar success story driven in the beginning by the passion of one woman, Jules Bishop, who started looking after orphaned or ill hedgehogs in 2007. The project grew and grew in her regular home on an estate in Cheddar, and finally they managed to secure dedicated premises. They typically care for over 600 hedgehogs and hoglets every year. And that takes a lot of money. We are just giving our next donation to them of £250 bringing the total donated over the years to almost £2,500. Given that we are delighted to have hedgehogs in our garden, and indeed once discovered an unwell confused hog which we took to Prickles for care (although sadly it didn't make it), we are proud to be helping in a small way their brilliant and dedicated workers and volunteers.

​​The Mendip Hills Fund on the other hand is a community fund set up to conserve and enhance the environment, communities and economy of the Mendip Hills. It is a partnership between the Mendip Hills AONB Partnership and the Somerset Community Foundation. It is supported by local businesses and last year was able to give £11,000 in grants to thoughtful projects throughout the Mendips. Given that almost all guests at Gorge View Cottage gain from the beautiful and varied Mendip Hills we feel it is the least we can do to given back a little to the area, to help the maintenance and improvements that keep it special. The recent £250 donation brings our running total to MHF to £870.

So hopefully for all guests coming to the cottage they will know that every stay helps the local good causes.

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.

Pretty much anyone in the UK, or indeed Europe, has been experiencing some of the most wintery weather we've experienced in many years. To start with, here in Somerset, we were just suffering the cold temperatures, and in particular the biting wind.

And then suddenly Somerset was in first an amber and then a red weather warning area as storm Emma drove moist air up in to the cold air mass over Britain, and the two weather systems colliding whipped up the winds even more.


In fact because of the winds the snow was not "deep and crisp and even", but much more variable. Birch Hill outside the cottage was pretty much clear of snow whilst in the garden and anywhere, the winds eddied around, the snow piled up in deep drifts. All in all we probably got 6 to 8 inches on average. And certainly it all looked lovely.

For possibly a day on the Thursday/Friday we were snowed in as far as vehicles went (no 4-wheel drive available). Birch Hill at the one end has a short steep bit that was too much for normal cars. But there are two flatter routes in that work fine if taken gently. But why drive if you can walk? So we did enjoy walking down to the village a few times with the roads largely to ourselves as most people heeded the advice to not go out if they did not need to.

And now on Saturday it is all thawing quite fast. The worst is over and life around us is returning to normal.

The snow itself has been rather wonderful as it drapes across the gorge slopes and the trees and the cottages. The nastier thing has been the easterly winds, and whilst the cottage has been solid throughout, and snug with underfloor heating and the log stove if wanted, our house has had two tiles ripped off and we're getting them fixed ASAP (but not for a few days  - so no rain, please). That is the first time in 15 years here that we have experienced any storm damage and it says a lot about the strength of the gusts. Not that we are complaining. Despite the dire predictions we have not suffered in any serious way and we know further afield many have.

Must stop now and finish the snowman!

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".

The UK is blessed with a huge range of public pathways criss-crossing the countryside, enshrined in our Public Rights of Way and captured in detail on the wonderful Ordnance Survey maps (the best in the world in my opinion). The pinnacle of these paths are the 13 National Trails: long distance paths including the formidable Pennine Way, awesome Cotswold Way and the astonishing South West Coast Path. But just under this top level are a wide range of long distance paths that deserve top status but have yet to quite make it. And we have one literally on our doorstep: the Mendip Way.

It was opened in 1979, and is defined in two contrasting halves: the West Mendip Way running from the coast at Uphill (between Weston-Super-Mare and Brean Down) to Wells, travelling through the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and then the East Mendip Way continuing on from Wells and ending up in the lively town of Frome. In total 50 miles (or 80km) with around 31 miles of that on the West Mendip Way.

This week the Mendip Way was relaunched following an extensive piece of work to improve and better way-mark the route in both directions. The Mendip Hills AONB worked in partnership with the Mendip Society, Mendip Ramblers and the Rotary Club to get this work done and now Visit Somerset are actively promoting it. The whole Mendip Way can be completed in just three days but most people might choose to add some days and take time to relax and enjoy the walks and the stopovers a little more. If you want to do the trail as a continuous walk, maybe even with luggage transfers between stops to keep the load light, then Encounter Walking Holidays can tailor a walking holiday just for you. But alternatively if you prefer too stitch together your own holiday then one strong possibility, especially if you'd like to cover just the West Mendip Way, is to base yourself in Cheddar. Indeed Gorge View Cottage is just 2 minutes away from the Mendip Way route. 

The options then are to do two or three "bus walks", all covered in detail and freely downloadable from the Cheddar Walking website (walks 9 and 10). Day one could be a bus to Weston-Super-Mare, with an optional 3 mile walk along the beach, and then with the Mendip Way proper starting from Uphill, and continuing 13 miles to Shute Shelve, via Crook Peak, Wavering Down and Kings Wood to where the Strawberry Line rail path passes underneath the Mendip Hills, and the Mendip Way, in the old rail tunnel. At this point, unless you are on a serious roll, you can break and bus the short way back to Cheddar for a gentle evening.

Picking up the next day and busing back to Shute Shelve you'd have a gentler 7-mile walk via Shipham, skirting the Mendip Hills high-point at Black Down but worth a detour up for the views from Beacon Batch. Then on down through Black Rock reserve ending up walking down one side of spectacular Cheddar Gorge through the National Trust owned land.

The final day would be a 12-mile walk. Bus out to Wells, and then a route that takes you out of England's smallest "city" past the cathedral and along the exquisite Vicar's Close before heading on up to Wookey Hole, then to Ebbor Gorge and a perfect lunch halt at Priddy Village. The final leg across the top of the Mendips and through Draycott Sleights reserve finally brings you back down to Cheddar again.

You can find out a whole lot more on the AONB web site and soon they'll have the detailed East Mendip Way guide published too.

Some cryptic acronyms in the title for this blog, but what it refers to is the National Trust's South West Outdoor Festival 2017. The second such festival, the first being in Heddon Valley, North Devon in 2016. This time it was centred at the top of Cheddar Gorge (much of the gorge is NT land).
It all happened this past weekend and offered a huge range of outdoor activities at a serious level: not just mountain biking, hill running, kayaking, but (given where we are) rock climbing, pot-holing, caving, bat watching and ... some lovely walking!

The walking was organised by Cheddar Walking, the Walkers are Welcome initiative in Cheddar that we at Gorge View Cottage helped start and still help lead. Whilst most people (circa 1,500 at the festival over the long weekend) were there for more extreme sport, of course some wanted less physical things to do, and to take in the beautiful area. We organised five half-day walks over the three day from the Festival Site near Back Rock Reserve: to Priddy village, along the West Mendip Way; to Yeo Valley's stunning HQ canteen in Blagdon, a walk taking you over Beacon Batch the highest point of the Mendip Hills; and of course the classic circular Gorge Walk.

Despite the weather (wet and windy at times, but sunny and clear at others) all our walks seem to stay dry, the views revealed themselves and those joining us had a really good time, some wonderful sights, and good-to-moderate exercise.

All this was also strongly supported by the Mendip Hills AONB and the Somerset Wildlife Trust who protect and promote this stunning area. A big thanks to them both.

Of course any of these walks can be self-navigated if you come to Cheddar, just ask us for the directions when you are staying or check out the Cheddar Walking web site.

One of the most impress natural reserve areas in our locality is not up on the beautiful Mendip Hills but out on the Somerset Levels just past the Isle of Wedmore. The Avalon Marshes comprise a rich set of important and accessible wildlife reserves run by, variously, Somerset Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, Natural England and others. Shapwick Heath, Meare Heath, Ham Wall all join up together in to a wonderful area, all knitted together around the Avalon Marshes Centre with local art shop, a great eco cafe, and some recreated Neolithic (New Stone Age) constructions. Lots to do and see so find out more here.

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And now all this has been recognised by the Avalon Marshes winning the National Lottery Award for Best Environmental Project. Beating off over 1,300 other entries is quite something, and the many volunteers who over many years have made it what it is rightly deserve it. The award itself was presented by comedian Bill Bailey who comes from Somerset and is a keen walker himself. The Visit Somerset article tells you more.

We've featured the area before in this blog for the local art centre, and the Starling murmurations for which it is famous. Anyone visiting the Mendip and Cheddar and who has a love for natural landscape and wildlife should try and get there. Sadly not that easy without a car (its about 9 miles away), but you can get to Glastonbury on buses and then it is a lovely traffic-free walk or cycle out along the disused Glastonbury to Burnham-on-Sea railway branch line. 

So following a poll featured in the Daily Mail to find what people think is the "Best View in Britain", whilst the view from the summit of Mount Snowdon came in first, Cheddar Gorge was a creditable fifth. The views from inside the gorge looking up, or on top looking down are all spectacular, but the view that people find the most iconic is the one from the highest point on the east side looking over the gorge to the reservoir and on along the Mendip Ridge towards the Quantock Hills.

The full list was: Snowdon summit, the Three Sisters mountain range in Glen Coe, Stonehenge, St Ives Bay, Cheddar Gorge, Loch Ness (from Dores), Buttermere in the Lake District, the Palace of Westminster (viewed from Westminster Bridge), The Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim and finally Loch Lomond.

So we feel Cheddar Gorge is up there in the best of company. See more on the Daily Mail article.

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.