Mendips Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

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).

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.

• Mendip Hills AONB website

• Priddy
• Charterhouse
• Cheddar and its gorge.
• Wookey Hole
• East Harptree
• Wells the small city with a big cathedral as the southern-most point of the Mendips

Bristol Airport (BRS ^IATA) is well served from most of Europe and is a few miles north.

The nearest railway stations are at Bath, Bristol, Weston super Mare and Frome.

• First Bus^{[dead link]} operate services in the area.

Fairly easily accessible from the M5 motorway, Bristol, Bath, Wells, Weston super Mare.

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.

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.

• Blackmoor Reserve
• Black Rock Reserve
• Bleadon Hill

51.31851-2.731431 Burrington Combe. limestone gorge.  

• Charterhouse

51.282409-2.765462 Cheddar Gorge. The largest gorge in Britain.  

• Cheddar Caves
• Chew Valley Lake

51.29831-2.880263 Crook Peak (186 m (610 ft)).  

51.32696-2.790584 Dolebury Hill Fort.  

51.23535-2.680555 Ebbor Gorge. (updated Apr 2023)

• Priddy Green
• Stockhill and Priddy Mineries Reserve

51.22819-2.671856 Wookey Hole. (updated Apr 2023)

• 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. 
• 51.29881-2.715591 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. 

• 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. 

51.25556-2.665872 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. 

• 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. 

Many of the pubs serve good food, there are cafes and restaurants in Cheddar and Wells.

Most villages have pubs amongst which are:

51.24861-2.647011 Hunters Lodge Inn, , Wells Road,Priddy, BA5 3AR,, ☏ +44 1749 672275. Real ale, pub grub, traditional style, open fires. Popular with cavers. 

51.25389-2.677862 The Queen Victoria Inn, Pelting Drove, Priddy, BA5 3BB. Real ales, cider, pub grub, folk evenings.  

• New Inn, The Green, Priddy. Real ales, pub grub, bed and breakfast accommodation. 

51.36557-2.57973 Druids Arms, Bromley Road, Stanton Drew, BS39 4EJ, ☏ +44 1275 332230. 11:30AM-11PM. Real ale, beer garden, food, handy for Stanton Drew stone circle and Chew Valley Lake. 

51.30925-2.631244 The Crown Inn, 1 The Street, West Harptree, BS40 6HA, ☏ +44 1761 221432. Good beer and cider and homecooked food. In the heart of Chew Valley at the foot of the Mendips. 

There are a number of guest houses, also some self-catering accommodation, camping and caravan sites and a few independent hotels. Full lists available from Somerset County Tourist Information [1]^{[dead link]}

51.20758-2.687051 Burcott Mill, Wells Road, Wookey, Wells BA5 1NJ, ☏ +44 1749 673118. Bed and Breakfast adjacent to a working water-powered flour mill. from £30 adult sharing double. 

51.31404-2.799672 The Penscot Inn, The Square, Shipham, BS25 1BW, ☏ +44 1934 842659. Twelve en suite rooms, 3-star rated. Restaurant and bar. £76 double. 

51.30682-2.867533 Home Farm Cottages, Home Farm, Barton Rd, Winscombe BS25 1DX, ☏ +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. 

51.356-2.5554 Carpenters Arms, Wick Lane, Stanton Wick, Pensford BS39 4BX, ☏ +44 1761 490202. Charming village pub with rooms, a knock-through of miners' cottages. Handy for Bristol Airport. B&B double from £110. (updated Jun 2020)

51.24441-2.554975 Self Catering Somerset (Spindle Cottage), Tuners Court Ln, Binegar Green, Radstock, BA3 4UE (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. 

• Broadway House Holiday Park, Cheddar (18 miles south of Bristol on the A371, midway between Cheddar and Axbridge), ☏ +44 1934 742610, fax: +44 1934 744950, [email protected]. Touring caravans, camping, some lodges, swimming pool in summer, children's play area, convenience shop, restaurant and bar. 
• Anela B&B, Lower North Street, Cheddar, ☏ +44 1934 743806. A friendly B&B in the centre of Cheddar village, convenient for all facilities and just a short, level walk from the gorge. 

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.

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
• Bristol
• Bridgwater

Routes through Mendips

Bridgwater ←	SW  NE	→ Bristol
Glastonbury ← Wells ←	SW  NE	→ Bath