The Mendip Hills and Cheddar Gorge

This is a stunning guided walk and a grand tour of the Mendip Hills, taking in Cheddar reservoir, Beacon Batch, Long Wood and the limestone track which looks down on the famous Cheddar Gorge itself. 

It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with open heathland at its heart, grazed by wild ponies. There are woodland sections too, most notably the beautiful Long Wood with its moss-clad trees and winding path. Your highest point will be Beacon Batch, the site of bronze age round barrows. Not far from here during World War II a decoy bombing town was constructed to fool bombers into dropping their arsenal away from Bristol and you can still see the rows of tumps (small mounds) created to stop enemy aircraft landing.

You can expect a few steep hills, but there are many excellent views throughout and plenty of tearooms at the end for a cuppa before heading back to Bristol.

Please bring your own packed lunch, snacks and water. There are public toilets at the start and end of the walk. 

How it works:

Buy your ticket in advance: Buy your ticket here in advance – you can buy for friends and family too. We’ll email your tickets plus send you more information closer to the day including what to bring and travel arrangements.

Make your own way to the walk meet point: Many of our walks have good public transport links, but if you’re needing a lift email us at info@letswalkbristol.co.uk and we will pass the message on to other walkers booked onto your walk. If you’re wondering about the health and safety issues surrounding car sharing there’s some helpful information on the Liftshare travel happy website: https://liftshare.com/uk. 

Meet your guide: Your walk guide will be at the meet point to welcome and register you. We have an amazing team of experienced, insured guides who have designed some fabulous walking routes and who will be able to share interesting information with you along the way. They will also have details of any health/medical notes you told us about when you registered.

Nordic walking? This walk is open to both Nordic and regular walkers, so bring your poles and enjoy the day. There won’t be a pre-walk Nordic warm-up so if you’d like to do your own we’d recommend you arrive a bit early. 

Looking after your health and safety: Your health and safety is important to us and we have the following provisions in place on this walk: A requirement for everyone to complete and bring a Covid-19 declaration and waiver in order to participate. A limit on walker numbers to 16 people. A walk assistant to help should anyone in the group need to drop out for any reason. 

Don’t forget to book onto our evening socials for afterwards! 
We’ve two great Evening socials organised so you can meet up with others, continue to enjoy the Festival and experience Bristol’s vibrant culture. Underfall Yard is a working boat yard with a stunning view across the harbour. Toto’s is a trendy wine bar on the harbour front with a great private terrace. There’ll be food, music and plenty of outdoor space for you to enjoy.
 

Distance: 12 miles
Difficulty: Demanding
Time: 9am – 4pm
Meet: Cheddar Cliff St Car Park, Cheddar BS27 3PS
Cost: £20