Cheddar

Cheddar works well as a short break base thanks to its mix of small hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, most within easy walking distance of the village centre and a short drive or walk from the gorge itself. Options tend towards traditional Somerset inns and family-run guesthouses rather than large chain hotels, so booking ahead in summer is worthwhile as choice is limited compared with bigger towns nearby. Self-catering cottages are also available in and around the village, useful for longer stays or families wanting more space and flexibility with meals. For a wider choice of hotel rooms, Wells, Weston-super-Mare and Bristol are all within a 20 to 30-minute drive and offer considerably more options, making them worth considering as a base if you are also planning to explore further afield across Somerset and the Mendips.

Most visitors come for the gorge and caves, but there is more to Cheddar than its headline attraction.

• Cheddar Gorge & Caves — a day ticket covers Gough's Cave, Cox's Cave, the Museum of Prehistory, Jacob's Ladder (274 steps up to a lookout tower) and the clifftop walk, with views across the Somerset Levels.
• Clifftop Walk — a roughly three-mile circular walk along the gorge's rim, steep in places, with some of the best views in Somerset and a good chance of spotting the resident feral goats and Soay sheep that graze the slopes to keep scrub down.
• Cheddar Man and the Museum of Prehistory — home to a facial reconstruction of Britain's oldest nearly complete human skeleton, found in Gough's Cave, alongside finds spanning thousands of years of occupation.
• Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co. — a working dairy in the gorge where you can watch cheddar being made by hand and matured, some of it in the caves themselves, using methods largely unchanged for generations.
• Cheddar Reservoir — a circular walking and cycling route around the reservoir, plus sailing, paddleboarding and fishing for those who want to get on the water.
• Cheddar Ales — a local brewery on Draycott Road with a tap room and shop pouring its own beers alongside sourdough pizza from a wood-fired oven.
• The Strawberry Line — a traffic-free cycling and walking trail built along a former railway line, running from Cheddar towards Yatton and Clevedon, popular with families.

The village has a modest but decent spread of places to eat, including The Bath Arms and The White Hart pubs, and The Village Cafe & Bakery for a daytime stop. Cheddar Ales' tap room on Draycott Road is worth seeking out for its own beers and wood-fired pizza, and the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co. shop is the obvious spot to pick up genuine local cheddar, some of it matured in the gorge's caves, to take home.

Camping around Cheddar means limestone hills, wide Somerset Levels views and easy access to one of the South West's best-known landmarks. The Mendip Hills rise steeply behind the village, so pitches on higher ground can be exposed to wind, while sites down towards the Levels are flatter and more sheltered, though the ground can be soft after heavy rain given the low-lying, historically marshy land nearby. Several campsites and touring parks sit within walking distance of Cheddar Gorge, making it possible to leave the car behind for a day of caving, walking and cheese-tasting.

Wild camping is not legally permitted in England, including in Somerset and the Mendip Hills, without the landowner's permission, so stick to registered campsites, certified sites or farms offering pitches with the owner's agreement. This is different from Scotland, where wild camping is generally allowed under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code; England has no equivalent right, and the National Trust and other landowners around the gorge do not permit informal camping on their land.

Late spring through early autumn is the most comfortable window, with drier ground and long evenings for exploring the clifftop walk, though this is also when the gorge and village are busiest with day visitors. Autumn brings cooler, quieter camping with good colour on the lower slopes, while winter camping is possible on well-drained sites but exposed to Mendip winds and short daylight hours. For those who prefer a roof, glamping options in the area range from bell tents and shepherd's huts to fixed-site pods, offering a comfortable alternative within reach of the gorge without needing to bring full camping kit.