The Mendips are a range of hills in northern Somerset in the south-west of the United Kingdom. The area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Understand
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The Mendips are carboniferous limestone hills, situated a few miles south of Bristol, just north of the Somerset Levels. There have been quarries and mining here from early times, all mining has now ceased. Caving, climbing and hiking are popular outdoor activities.
The caves at Cheddar contain traces of Palaeolithic man. Lead, copper, silver were mined from the Bronze Age, through Roman times up until the 19th century.
The tops of the Mendips consist mostly of grassland, grazed by sheep and there is a wide variety of plant and animal life for those interested in natural history.
Towns and villages in the Mendips include:
- Priddy
- Charterhouse
- Cheddar and its gorge
- Wookey Hole
- East Harptree
- Wells the small city with a big cathedral as the southernmost point of the Mendips
Tourist information
[edit]- Mendip Hills AONB website
Get in
[edit]By plane
[edit]Bristol Airport (BRS IATA) is well served from most of Europe and is a few miles north.
By train
[edit]The nearest railway stations are at Bath, Bristol, Weston super Mare and Frome.
By bus
[edit]- First Bus operates services in the area.
By car
[edit]Fairly easily accessible from the M5 motorway, Bristol, Bath, Wells, and Weston-super-Mare. The A38 between Bristol and the M5 passes the western side of the hills and passes Bristol Airport.
Get around
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By bus
[edit]The Chew Valley Explorer bus serves many of the local villages. Some other bus services are provided by First Bus as above. Otherwise you have to walk or use a car.
On foot
[edit]Many of the more interesting destinations are only accessible on foot. Walking guides are available from the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty service.
See
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- Blackmoor Reserve
- Black Rock Reserve
- Bleadon Hill
- 1 Burrington Combe. limestone gorge.
- Charterhouse
- 2 Crook Peak (186 m (610 ft)).
- 3 Dolebury Hill Fort.
- 4 Ebbor Gorge.
- Priddy Green
- Stockhill and Priddy Mineries Reserve
- 5 Wookey Hole Caves. A series of limestone caverns that are open as a show cave and tourist attraction.
- 6 Yeo Valley Organic Gardens, Blagdon BS40 7SQ, ☏ +44 1761 461425. Th F 11AM-5PM. Delightful gardens overlooking Blagdon Lake.
Do
[edit]Outdoor pursuits
[edit]- Mendip Outdoor Pursuits, The Warehouse, Silver Street, Congresbury, ☏ +44 1934 834877, fax: +44 1934 834888, [email protected]. Offer a variety of activities including climbing, abseiling, caving, hill walking, orienteering.
- cheddarclimbingcaving.co.uk, ☏ +44 1761 232026, [email protected]. Caving, climbing, abseiling, kit hire.
- Somerset Wildlife Trust, Chancellor’s Farm, Plummer’s Lane, Priddy, ☏ +44 1749 871248, [email protected]. Manages several nature reserves in the Mendip Hills, information on website.
- Chew Valley Lake, Woodford Lodge, Chew Stoke, Bristol, ☏ +44 1275 332339, fax: +44 1275 331377, [email protected]. Over 260 different species of birds have been recorded, ranging from tiny reed warblers to Bewick's swans. Permits available for some reserve areas, also for fishing the lake.
- 1 Charterhouse Centre, Charterhouse-on-Mendip, Blagdon, Bristol, ☏ +44 1761 462267, [email protected]. Offers climbing, abseiling, caving, mountain biking, accommodation and campsite.
- Mendip Hills Outstanding Area of Natural Beauty, ☏ +44 1761 462338. Downloadable walking guides.
Caving
[edit]- Axbridge Caving Group, ☏ +44 1761 452288. Training, advice, equipment, books and videos available, regular organised expeditions. Meet in the Hunters Lodge, 2nd Sunday of month.
- Mendip Caving Group, [email protected]. Charterhouse based group with a cottage that can accommodate 30, hold keys to a variety of caves.
- Shepton Mallet Caving Club, The Mineries, Wells Road, Priddy. Cottage with bunk bed accommodation for 25, some camping accommodation.
- 2 Wessex Cave Club, Upper Pitts, Eastwater Lane, Priddy, BA5 3AX, ☏ +44 1749 672310. Local caving club, with a club cottage that can accommodate groups up to 15.
Events
[edit]- 3 Priddy Folk Festival, The Green, Priddy, ☏ +44 1749 674080. 3-day folk music festival in July annually, with craft fair, club tent, camp site, dance events. £47 with camping, children under 10 free.
Eat
[edit]Many of the pubs serve good food, there are cafes and restaurants in Cheddar and Wells.
Drink
[edit]Most villages have pubs amongst which are:
- 1 Hunters Lodge Inn, Wells Rd, Priddy, ☏ +44 1749 672275. Real ale, pub grub, traditional style, open fires. Popular with cavers.
- 2 The Queen Victoria Inn, Pelting Drove, Priddy. Real ales, cider, pub grub, folk evenings.
- New Inn, The Green, Priddy. Real ales, pub grub, bed and breakfast accommodation.
- 3 Druids Arms, Bromley Rd, Stanton Drew, ☏ +44 1275 332230. 11:30AM-11PM. Real ale, beer garden, food, handy for Stanton Drew stone circle and Chew Valley Lake.
- 4 The Crown Inn, One The Street, West Harptree, ☏ +44 1761 221432. Good beer and cider and homecooked food. In the heart of Chew Valley at the foot of the Mendips.
Sleep
[edit]There are a number of guest houses, also some self-catering accommodation, camping and caravan sites and a few independent hotels.
- 1 The Penscot Inn, The Square, Shipham, ☏ +44 1934 842659. Twelve en suite rooms, 3-star rated. Restaurant and bar. £76 double.
- 2 Home Farm Cottages, Home Farm, Barton Rd, Winscombe, ☏ +44 1934 842078, [email protected]. Self-catering accommodation set in 2 acres of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Barton, near Cheddar. £240-775 seasonal rates per week.
- 3 Carpenters Arms, Wick Lane, Stanton Wick, Pensford, ☏ +44 1761 490202. Charming village pub with rooms, a knock-through of miners' cottages. Handy for Bristol Airport. B&B double from £110.
- 4 Self Catering Somerset (Spindle Cottage), Tuners Court Ln, Binegar Green, Radstock (15 miles south of Bath and 5 miles north of Wells; 1/2 mile from the B3139 Wells/Bath road and 1 mile from the A37 at Gurney Slade on the Bristol/Shepton Mallet road), ☏ +44 1749 840497. Self-catering Somerset holiday accommodation. Spindle cottage is a 17th-century cottage high on the Mendip hills. Set in a garden complete with summerhouse, gazebo and a conservatory. Step inside the cottage and you find a world of make believe with carvings of mushrooms, spiders web, birds and mice in oak beams and stone work.
Stay safe
[edit]Outdoor activities such as climbing, caving and abseiling should only be undertaken with suitably qualified groups. The hills contain many old mine workings and even undiscovered pot-holes, so walkers should be well equipped and use good maps.
Go next
[edit]Other local attractions near the Mendips are:
- Glastonbury
- Street (with Clarks Shopping Village)
- Frome
- Bath
- Weston-super-Mare
- Wookey Hole Caves (full of adventure for little kids)
- Cheddar and Britain's largest gorge, 1 Cheddar Gorge
- Bristol
- Bridgwater
| Routes through Mendips |
| Bridgwater ← | SW  NE
|
→ Bristol |
| Glastonbury ← Wells ← | SW  NE
|
→ Bath |