A short visitor's guide to Cheddar, Somerset: things to do, places to eat and drink, and what's on through the year.
Cheddar is a large village on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, sitting nine miles north-west of Wells and about eighteen miles south-west of Bristol. The village is best known for the dramatic limestone gorge that cuts through the hills immediately to the north, a landscape of sheer cliffs, show caves and ancient rock formations that draws visitors from across Britain and beyond.
Most people come for Cheddar Gorge and Caves: the gorge itself is England's largest, and the caves beneath it contain nine thousand years of human history. The village also lends its name to the world's most widely copied cheese, originally matured in the cool, constant-temperature caves here. Beyond the gorge, the village has a good range of independent pubs, cafes and restaurants, making it a comfortable base for exploring the Somerset Levels and the wider Mendip Hills area.
Virtually every attraction in Cheddar is connected to the gorge, with the cave systems as the centrepiece and a cluster of outdoor and heritage experiences arranged around them.
The headline is Cheddar Gorge and Caves, which encompasses several distinct experiences within a single ticket or by separate admission. Gough's Cave is the largest show cave, stretching over two kilometres with cathedral-like chambers and exhibitions on its prehistoric inhabitants, including finds from some of the oldest human remains in Britain. Cox's Cave and The Crystal Quest offers a smaller, more fantastical cave experience alongside it. Above the gorge floor, Jacob's Ladder is a 274-step staircase cut into the cliff giving access to the Cliff-Top Walk, a two-mile route along the rim of the gorge with vertiginous views down into the valley. The Lookout Tower at the top provides a panoramic viewpoint over the Somerset Levels. For a lighter option, Cheddar Crazy Golf runs an eighteen-hole course with gorge views, open spring to autumn and dog-friendly. Visitors with dog-friendly holiday cottages in Cheddar will find the village and gorge paths particularly good walking territory.
Outside the gorge itself, Cheddar has a handful of open spaces in the village for a calmer hour away from the crowds.
Hannah More Park on Hill Lea Gardens is a pleasant local park named after the eighteenth-century philanthropist and author who was born in the nearby area. For cyclists and younger visitors, Pump Track Cheddar by Velosolutions on Sharpham Road is a purpose-built asphalt pump track, free to use. The Sharpham Road Playing Fields alongside it offer open grass space for a run around. The former railway line through the village has been converted into the Strawberry Line Trail, a traffic-free cycling and walking route that connects Cheddar to Yatton and forms part of National Cycle Network route 26.
Cheddar's indoor options are compact but well chosen, with a thriving arts venue at the base of the gorge and a good leisure centre in the village.
Cheddar Arts Quarter CIC, known locally as The Arts Quarter, occupies a building at The Lippiatt at the foot of the gorge and features a gallery and shop representing over forty-five local artists and crafters, seven resident artist studios, and a regular programme of creative workshops and community events. It is a good first stop for anyone looking to buy original Somerset-made work. For sport and fitness, Kings Fitness and Leisure on Station Road is the village leisure centre with well-rated facilities. Cheddar Library on Union Street rounds out the options for a quieter afternoon.
Cheddar has a generous spread of pubs for a village of its size, ranging from a brewery tap with wood-fired pizza to a seventeenth-century inn on Silver Street.
The most distinctive option is the Cheddar Ales Brewery, Tap Room and Shop at Winchester Farm on Draycott Road, where the local brewery opens its tap room for tasters across a large range of ales alongside local gins, wines and sourdough pizzas from a wood-fired oven. The Kings Head on Silver Street is a well-loved seventeenth-century building with dog-friendly rooms inside and out. On the gorge approach, the Riverside Inn Cheddar on Cliff Street is the biggest and busiest pub, with an international menu and a garden; Bath Arms Hotel on Bath Street is the smarter hotel-bar option; and The White Hart near The Bays provides another solid local choice. Cabra at The Cliffs is a compact bar with a local and international beer selection and occasional live music.
Cheddar's restaurant scene is centred along The Cliffs and Cliff Street, with a mix of sit-down restaurants, Indian dining and fish and chip shops alongside the gorge.
The most praised option is La Rocca Italian Restaurant at the gorge entrance, serving upscale Italian plates in a relaxed setting with a patio and river views: over fourteen hundred positive reviews make it the clear first choice for an evening meal. For Indian cuisine, Rasoi Indian Restaurant at The Cliffs is the contemporary option with a smart two-level dining room, while Spice Cottage on Union Street offers regional Indian dishes in a dedicated restaurant setting. The best chippies are Tuckers Takeaway Cheddar at The Cliffs and Cheddar Fish Bar on Cliff Street. Dragon House on Cliff Street covers Chinese takeaway, and Thai by Tai at Winchester Farm runs a pop-up Thai street-food operation from the same site as Cheddar Ales.
The cafe scene in Cheddar is concentrated along The Cliffs, with several well-regarded tea rooms and gorge-view spots making the most of their setting.
The standout for cream teas is Lion Rock Tea Rooms at The Cliffs, a quintessentially English tearoom with baked goods, light bites and an outdoor rooftop garden. Holly House Tea Rooms, also at The Cliffs, is a vintage family-run tearoom inside a gorge-view setting, with over thirty varieties of tea, artisan ice creams and vegan and gluten-free options. Edelweiss Cafe nearby is a second-generation family cafe continuing sixty years of tradition with fresh, home-cooked food from local produce. Cafe Gorge at the Lookout Tower gives the highest vantage point for a coffee stop. Back in the village, Parsons Bakery on Bath Street is the long-running family bakery for breads, pastries and sandwiches; The Mousehole at The Cliffs is a larger, conservatory-backed cafe with a wide menu including cream teas and ploughman's platters.
Cheddar is straightforward to reach by car and has a useful hourly bus link to both Wells and Weston-super-Mare, though it has no direct train service.
By car, the village sits on the A371, which connects Weston-super-Mare to Wincanton. The M5 motorway is approximately five miles away, with junction 22 around ten miles by road: a journey of roughly twenty minutes in normal traffic. Parking is available at the Cheddar Gorge and Caves car park at The Cliffs.
Cheddar's railway closed in 1963 as part of the Beeching cuts. The former Cheddar Valley Line (nicknamed the Strawberry Line for the strawberries it once transported) ran from Yatton to Wells, and sections of the trackbed are now open as the Strawberry Line Trail, a traffic-free cycling and walking route forming part of National Cycle Network route 26. The nearest mainline stations are Weston-super-Mare and Castle Cary.
By bus, the principal service is route 126, operated by First West of England, running hourly between Weston-super-Mare and Wells and stopping in Cheddar. Libra Travel runs the service 668 from Shipham to Street every couple of hours. The village is also served by connections to Axbridge a few miles to the north-west.