Well as we clear the fun, food and festivities of winter solstice, Christmas and the New Year, looking back it all really started in Cheddar on the, now well established, "Cheddar Festive Night". Typically on the first Friday evening of December all the shops in the village and the gorge, along with pubs and groups and associations, all kick of the darkest month with light and celebration.
It seems to get bigger every year and this year they closed off the whole main street from the cross (in the centre of the village) up to and on through the main gorge area. That is: they closed it off to traffic (not people)!
Many of the shops are offering tasters, and a highlight for us was starting at the newly opened The Sitting Room in the village by the church. They were offering free home-made soup and mulled wine. In fact mulled wine and cider was a theme dominating the evening as many of the associations in the village seem to set up a stall somewhere on the route serving piping hot spicy brew for a charitable contribution.
During all of this the local Fire Service (who run a responder service from the village's station) drive along the route pulling Santa behind and playing carols. And the small kids love it.
The Festive night is also the cue for all enthusiastic households and shops to switch on their Christmas lights and Cheddar gleams and twinkles, with a big white star hovering above the village courtesy of the local quarry. We join in at Gorge View with the house and cottage duly lit up with LED lights. All we lacked was snow, but helpfully the rain gave CHeddar a break on this lovely night. Now an 11 month wait for the next one.
It seems to get bigger every year and this year they closed off the whole main street from the cross (in the centre of the village) up to and on through the main gorge area. That is: they closed it off to traffic (not people)!
Many of the shops are offering tasters, and a highlight for us was starting at the newly opened The Sitting Room in the village by the church. They were offering free home-made soup and mulled wine. In fact mulled wine and cider was a theme dominating the evening as many of the associations in the village seem to set up a stall somewhere on the route serving piping hot spicy brew for a charitable contribution.
During all of this the local Fire Service (who run a responder service from the village's station) drive along the route pulling Santa behind and playing carols. And the small kids love it.
The Festive night is also the cue for all enthusiastic households and shops to switch on their Christmas lights and Cheddar gleams and twinkles, with a big white star hovering above the village courtesy of the local quarry. We join in at Gorge View with the house and cottage duly lit up with LED lights. All we lacked was snow, but helpfully the rain gave CHeddar a break on this lovely night. Now an 11 month wait for the next one.
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