After the overcast and drizzle of yesterday woke to a glorious sunny day with the birds chirping in the trees, ducks swimming in the lake and rabbits on the cliff side grazing on the grass. Lovely day to drive and explore Cheddar. The drive to Cheddar only took about 30 minutes backtracked on A370 over the M5 onto the A38 then the A371 and it is so lovely to not drive through valleys and high hills.

There is so much more to see than just cheese in Cheddar a picture postcard Somerset village and now Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company is the only company to make Somerset's Cheddar cheese in the village might have a look at how it is made tomorrow as we didn’t have time today.

The Cheddar Caravan and Motorhome site was a bit difficult to find (the other sites we wanted to go to were booked out) actually nearly all the sites are hard to find there are only small signs by the road where you have to turn. Luckily there was a nice chap who had a small site no showers though who pointed us in the right direction. Only one street away behind the football club and down a small lane.

Once settled we ventured out to tackle the Cheddar Gorge cliff top walk but we won’t be doing the full 3-mile round route. It would have been great to do the Bus Tour relaxing in a double decker bus enjoying the 360 degree panoramic views of the gorge but we didn’t want to pay for all the extra sights and activities. A bit expensive when you know what a cave looks like and we are not into rock climbing or caving.

Memories of Tintagel Castle and Lynmouth came to mind when we saw the steep rocky trail to the cliff top. I must admit once you reach the top the scenic landscape is spectacular and considered one of the country’s top natural wonders. Carved by melted water over the millions of years the three mile long gorge is the biggest in Britain. A bit scary when you are standing on towering cliffs rising up over 400 feet taking photos or video of the dramatic views down into the ravine (the cars are small and the people like ants especially the silly ones rock climbing) and out across the Mendip Hills and beyond.

Like many other people we only viewed one side of the gorge not the full 3 mile round walk plus the icy cold wind was biting through the bones time for the easy descend down the cliff side. The quick exit is down the 274 steps of Jacobs Ladder near the Lookout Tower I climbed before to see the magnificent views. We had a laugh about the steps being called Jacobs Ladder but is got us down to the main entry of tourist shops and eateries to the gorge.

So nice to have a hot shower and rest the bones before tomorrow’s bike ride along the Strawberry Line. Not know if we will do the 10 mile trail looking at the variety of wildlife habitats from ponds and wetlands to limestone grasslands and dense scrub. Lots of rest stops on the way for refreshments.