Cheddar Gorge

Agulliver · Nov 28, 2016

I'm likely to be visiting Cheddar Gorge (Somerset, UK) in the coming weeks....any tips?

Steve Smith · Nov 28, 2016

Climb up the hill (274 steps) then climb up the tower at the top of the hill. Great view all round.

https://www.cheddargorge.co.uk/explore/the-lookout-tower

Steve.

Mainecoonmaniac · Nov 28, 2016

When I first saw the thread, I thought it was about over indulging in cheese.

mynewcolour · Nov 28, 2016

Try some of the cave aged cheese. With cider obviously.

Mainecoonmaniac · Nov 28, 2016

mynewcolour said:
Try some of the cave aged cheese. With cider obviously.

Cheddar and Scrumpy sounds like a pair made in heaven.

tedr1 · Nov 28, 2016

Allow time to visit the caves

Steve Smith · Nov 29, 2016

Mainecoonmaniac said:
When I first saw the thread, I thought it was about over indulging in cheese.

It can be...

Steve.

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

Agulliver said:
any tips?

take crackers

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

oh and don't be tempted to visit nearby Glastonbury.
It is a vile place riddled with drugs, mental ill-health and a whole economy predicated upon preying on the vulnerable or weak-minded. Sometimes both.

[it's being so cheerful as keeps me goin']

railwayman3 · Nov 29, 2016

pdeeh said:
oh and don't be tempted to visit nearby Glastonbury.
It is a vile place riddled with drugs, mental ill-health and a whole economy predicated upon preying on the vulnerable or weak-minded. Sometimes both.

[it's being so cheerful as keeps me goin']

A bit harsh....if you disregard all the occult, magic and new-age shops (or at least look at them with suitable scepticism and amusement), there's some real history and (genuine) folk legends dating back hundreds of years. These folk legends, beliefs, and stories and, in particular, the reasons they arose in the past are actually becoming a legitimate historical study. (But the Cheddar Gorge, and the cheese, is best if your time is limited. )

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

I know glastonbury well, and I stand by my assessment

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

but this is going wildly offtopic so let's not spoil the op's thread.

mynewcolour · Nov 29, 2016

I find the pre-christian history and culture one of the more interesting things about the south west. Ley lines etc are pretty fascinating and must seem completely crazy to some tourists.

NJH · Nov 29, 2016

pdeeh said:
I know glastonbury well, and I stand by my assessment

Fantastic views from the top of the Tor though, with the Tor itself often photographed.

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

mynewcolour said:
I find the pre-christian history and culture one of the more interesting things about the south west. Ley lines etc are pretty fascinating and must seem completely crazy to some tourists.

definitely crazy, as of course they don't exist.

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

NJH said:
Fantastic views from the top of the Tor though, with the Tor itself often photographed.

Apart from the views, the one saving grace that Glastonbury has is the fantastic wholefood supermarket, Earthfare.
Maybe two saving graces, if we count its proximity to Wells, which is a cute little city with an exquisite cathedral and a marvellous Bishop's Palace.

NJH · Nov 29, 2016

Wells is really lovely, some nice little pubs as well.

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2016

Actually, if you're going to be staying in or near Cheddar, a trip out to Brean Down on the coast is worth making. It can't be more than 20 minutes.
There's a Palmerston fort there - very photogenic. I did a sequence of LF pinhole stuff at Brean a couple of years ago, still very pleased with them.

mynewcolour · Nov 29, 2016

pdeeh said:
definitely crazy, as of course they don't exist.

They exist as something, or they'd not 'seem crazy'.

pdeeh · Nov 30, 2016

They exist as specious projections of order onto normal random occurrences. They exist, that is, inasmuch as a belief exists in someone's head.

However as "facts" now appear to be created spontaneously as soon as someone thinks of a thing - and 2016 has produced an avalanche of such - then I suppose "ley lines" and the all the beliefs associated with them will once again be waved about as being on all fours with the existence of tables, chairs, other people, and pieces of cheese.

pdeeh · Nov 30, 2016

But again this is now even more wildly offtopic so I'll leave it there.

OP, enjoy your trip to Cheddar.
(just watch out for all the mysterious energy forces.)

Steve Smith · Dec 1, 2016

pdeeh said:
There's a Palmerston fort there - very photogenic. I did a sequence of LF pinhole stuff at Brean a couple of years ago, still very pleased with them.

I didn't know that. We have three off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

Steve.

MartinP · Dec 7, 2016

I was under the impression that the current versions of druids, ley-lines and all that spooky stuff were 're-imagined' by bored+rich 17th. Century second-sons looking for something to do. Cheddar Gorge would be better, indeed.

Agulliver · Dec 8, 2016

Thanks for the advice. The wife and I will likely be spending a day/night in the area in the next couple of months, though I shall delay it until the weather is at least dry if possible. I like the idea of Brean Down too, sounds lovely.

I did visit Glastonbury once, and don't really remember much about it. I have a friend there who makes and sells fairy wings. I'll watch out for ley lines and mystical energy fields.

pdeeh · Dec 8, 2016

MartinP said:
I was under the impression that the current versions of druids, ley-lines and all that spooky stuff were 're-imagined' by bored+rich 17th. Century second-sons looking for something to do. Cheddar Gorge would be better, indeed.

much more recent than that. The whole "ley line" stuff was early 20th Centurybased on a single book as I recall, while the "Druidry" we associate with Stonehenge and whatnot only really blossomed in the 2nd half of the 20th C.

The 17thC antiquarians were more like early archaeologists, though their methods and speculations could be bizarre. 17C England wasn't a good place to be challenging established religion, so the fake druidry had to wait until much more religiously tolerant times.

Cheddar Gorge

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