21 June 2016 - Knight’s Folly Farm, Bitton, near Bristol, Gloucestershire

The day was earmarked for an excursion to Cheddar Gorge, a place Chris was keen to visit. Cheddar is situated in the Mendip Hills, those that rise south of Bristol and to the north of Wells, and harbouring many caves in this limestone chain of hills. Unsurprisingly Cheddar is also home to the cheese of that name, and we were keen to check this out too.

After leaving our camp at Bitton, we travelled via the nearby satelite town of Keynsham, where we understand we will find a couple of decent supermarkets when the need arises. From there we travelled a little south, then westward south of the Chew Valley Lake and Bragdon Lake.

King John's Hunting Lodge

The lakes lie to the north of the Mendip Hills, and we were seeking the areas immediately to the south, the first stop at the charming village of Axbridge, where we parked in a conveniently appointed spot in the centre of town. Signs had drawn us off the more major road, suggesting we could visit King John’s Hunting Lodge, now a museum administered by the National Trust. Sadly we discovered  this did not open until 1 pm by which time we expected to be well gone. However the pastel hues of the surrounding residences and shops attracted our attention, as well as the imposing church adjacent to the square. We called up into this after wandering around the churchyard seeing that this was still well used, the resting place for the more recent cremated  remains of more contemporary folk.

We read the date of 1636 off the lovely ceiling but the list of rectors suggest the church has been operational since 1264. It is quite impressive and well worth a visit should one call into the village.

We travelled on the short distance to Cheddar, shocked at the first carpark offering all day parking for the princely sum of £5. We then spotted another sign offering parking up the hill, so there we went, up a narrow lane we hoped was one way, something disproved later in the day, and found a farm gate open, offering all day parking for the discounted price of £4 for all day. No sooner had we turned the engine off, did the lady of the farmyard arrive with her two dogs, and her hand out to take our money. In her favour, she did suggest we take a walking track to the top of the cliff via a route nearby, rather than descend to the tourist attraction office where we would have to pay for the privilege of the climb. So we did as she suggested and climbed up the rarely used track, through the blackberry and nettles, wary of the latter particularly after having been stung a few days ago and having suffered the after effects for nearly twenty four hours. We emerged on the more public walkway, near a steel tower which we felt obliged to climb and from which to enjoy the views. From here we looked down over the town of Cheddar, south to the reservoir, and even further south again and to the west, where we could see Exmoor, and Bridgewater Bay, and east to Glastonbury Tor.

Axbridge

Back on terra firma, after quizzing other walkers, we continued on up the hill, following a steep uneven track, still a little muddy from the rains of the previous days. We walked for over half an hour and found ourselves at what appeared to be the summit, looking down over the limestone outcrops and cliffs above the gorge, which itself was hidden from view by trees and the nature of the geology.

The gorge is a two mile cleft in the Mendip Hills, the 400 feet cliffs rising up from the roadway.  Alas the hill climb does not provide much in the way of revelation regarding this, only elevated views over the surroundings. Fortunately with visibility so much clearer than the previous days, that was reward enough.

We sat on a stile and a heap of rocks at the summit eating our lunch, gazing out over this wonderful countryside, then turned back down the hill taking far less time to descend that ascend, as you would expect. Instead of continuing on down through the brambles, we took the route followed by all the tourists who had paid for the pleasure of the climb, Jacob’s Steps, all 274 steps.

Back down in the village we wandered along admiring all the charming touristy shops, the ice-cream parlours and cafes.  Of course we had to sample some of the excellent locally made ice-cream, and then taste varieties of cheese in the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company, later finding the “Original” Cheddar Cheese Company further along the road. We purchased a wedge of real Cheddar Cheese and look forward to whittling it away over the next few days.

Views over Cheddar

Once on the road again, we drove up through the village, recently viewed on foot, and found that there was more we had missed, and worse still, a whole lot of free parking of which we had been unaware. The road through the gorge was incredibly pretty and there were walks everywhere we could have stopped to do, but I had worn myself out with that summit walk.

We drove north-west, in essence heading home, but were distracted by the name of a town on the map; Midsomer Norton. Was this the location of the “Midsomer Murders” television films we often watch? We had to find out. 

Driving into the town, we decided that there was absolutely nothing familiar about the place, just nothing at all like the lovely villages portrayed in the television series. It is simply the adoption of the name “Midsomer” and no more. However we spotted a Sainsbury Superstore and decided to shop while we were in town. This we did after walking up and down the main shopping street and deciding the place wasn’t too bad after all; it just wasn’t Detective Barnaby’s “Midsomer”.

Groceries bought, we had no option but to go directly home and stow them away, and so we did. We returned to find a changing of the guard; the campers have changed, but there are still more than the regulated five parties.