Cheddar Gorge and Cheddar Caves

Cheddar Gorge is the finest example of a limestone gorge in Britain, and its cliffs contain valuable habitats and rare plants. The two show caves at the bottom end of the gorge together attract half a million visitors a year.

The gorge was formed by meltwater floods during the many cold periglacial periods over the last 1.2 million years. During these arctic episodes, the development of permafrost blocked the caves with ice and frozen mud. Then snowmelt floods during the brief summers were forced to flow on the surface, and carved out the gorge in the process.

There are many caves in Cheddar Gorge, but the two largest, Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave are open to the public.

Cox's Cave was discovered by George Cox in 1837 and Gough's Cave was discovered by Richard Gough in 1898. The caves were formed by the ancestral River Yeo, more than 120,000 years ago.

The remains of several human skeletons, including the 9000-year-old Cheddar Man, were discovered just inside the entrance of Gough's Cave.