Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, UK is well known for it’s deep gorge and caves and is one of the top tourist attractions in our part of the world. Like all these things, it’s somewhere I’ve never properly visited even though it’s only 25 miles from home. So, yesterday we decided to take advantage of the good weather and walk the 3 1/2 mile cliff-top circular walk around the gorge.

Normally, if I’m choosing a hike, I’m looking for a good ten mile or more route, so I thought this short walk might be a bit of a damp squib. However, as it turned out, it involved a lot of climbing, a mix of terrain, goats roaming free and some fantastic views. It’s still only a half day hike but worth making the effort for.

We parked in Cheddar, it wasn’t that busy being February, for a reasonable £6 – all day parking. From there we climbed the northern side of the gorge, climbing for quite some time until we reached a viewing point looking back down onto Cheddar and the gorge.

I’ve no images of that, other than a goat we saw there, because I have that problem with going within 5m of a cliff edge. I can’t even look at other people near the cliff edge! There’s probably a name for this impairment – my wife has her own term for it that I can’t print here – but I’m not happy anywhere near the edge. I’m fine with heights and if the cliff edge had a barrier I’d be hanging over it, but unprotected, no chance.

Walking on from there, along the top of the gorge, the path is really well kept and mostly packed gravel so we made good time. The views going this way were few and far between with an occasional glimpse of the gorge down to our right. At the top of the gorge the path descends down over rough cut steps to a track leading to the main road through the gorge. There’s a small, but free, car park at this point for anyone wanting to start the route at the midway point.

The route then crosses the road and starts another climb up to the top of the southern ridge, before turning back towards Cheddar. The going on this side is stonier, quite muddy and involves another good climb to reach the top of the gorge. Once at the top the route slowly descends with some fantastic views opening up in front of you.

Although we were bathed in warm sunshine, and had taken our coats off within 15 minutes of starting the walk, anywhere shaded was quite cold with a good frost still on the ground. Unfortunately it was also quite hazy looking away into the distance. However, from the top of the gorge, we could just about make out Glastonbury Tor to the south and across to the Welsh coast looking west across Cheddar reservoir.

The route back was a lot more picturesque with great views in front of you most of the way. Just before climbing back down into Cheddar, there’s a watch tower you can climb for a final view over that part of Somerset countryside. We went up with the dog and spoke to a couple at the top who were on holiday from Nottingham, having travelled a lot further than us to visit the gorge.

From the tower we descended Jacobs Ladder, a series of steep steps in to Cheddar, and found a nice little cafe for a well deserved cream tea. The walk is a nice way to spend a morning or afternoon if you’re in the area. You can combine it with a visit to the Cheddar caves or drive on to other attractions in the area like Wells Cathedral.

As a spooky coincidence I logged in to Zwift today, for a bike ride, and one of the guest hill portal climbs was Cheddar Gorge. I didn’t know it was a planned portal ride for this week. I felt I had no option but to take it on so, as well as walking it yesterday, I’ve climbed it on my smart bike today.

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All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.