Photo: GreenTraveller 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.
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.
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