The gorge was created after the last Ice Age when the melting glaciers created the splendid cliffs and many caves that are visible nowadays.
The gorge is designated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and three new species of the Whitebeam tree have been found there and Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats make the many caves their home.
They headed steeply uphill from the village onto the cliff where the steps leading up into the viewing tower gave them a fantastic view of the gorge and the surrounding area.
Then higher still past the limestone outcrops of the enchantingly named High Rock and Wind Rock which are used by climbers during winter time.
On to the aptly named Pinnacle Rock where they paused to view a family of wild goats basking in the lovely spring sunshine.
A careful descent led them to Cliff Road which they crossed at Black Rock Gate in the Mendip Hills where the limestone is dark grey or black in colour and along the alluringly named Velvet Bottom with its Nature Reserve, managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust since 1975.
The area was mined for lead dating through the Roman era to Victorian times and it has unique flora and fauna within its steep-stepped terrain that is now covered in grass and scrub.
Velvet Bottom is noted for its Burrington Oolite which is pale grey limestone that is 345 million years old, that forms outcrops and they stopped for their mid-morning break nestled in the rocks whilst being serenaded by delightful birdsong.
A short stretch of road walking led them past the modern looking Church of St Hugh in Charterhouse that was built in 1908/9 to a design by William Douglas Caroe and originally served as the Welfare Hall for the local lead miners.
They joined an ancient bridleway named Rains Batch and headed up onto the open moorland of Black Down, where its heathland is kept in check by wild ponies and Devon Ruby Red cattle, whilst its invading bracken is harvested.
It also contains Bronze Age burial mounds and during the Second World War a decoy town was built there, so its blazing lights would deter German bomber planes, while piles of stones creating cairns were piled on the ground to deter planes from landing.
They arrived at Beacons Batch where the trig point is situated at 325m above sea level and marks the highest point of the Mendip Hills and they headed across the down towards Rowberrow Warren, situated on the western side of the Mendips.
This mixed woodland was planted during the 1940/50s on open ground set into the hillside and is popular with mountain bikers.
After they enjoyed the fantastic but misty views across the Bristol Channel they entered the Warren and located a spot in amongst the trees utilising old moss covered tree stumps for seating for their lunch break, while listening to birdsong and the nearby hammering of a woodpecker.
Refreshed they moved on along the main track just as a group of horse riders trekked by on some magnificent horses and headed down through the woodland and along Rowberrow Bottom, where the spring flowers were on display and out into the open countryside once again.
Through Tynings Farm and on past Tynings Gate and Ashridge Farm and along a track through the woods at Warrens Hill and past Fore Cliffs to Batts Combe Quarry.
Operating since the early 1900s, the limestone produced there is utilised to make concrete products and asphalt for road construction and repairs.
Then past the side of Warren Hill while overlooking Cheddar nestling in the valley below, through Hamfield where a pair of gnarled old rams eyed them as they passed through to cross the Cheddar Yeo River back into Cheddar.
Reaching the end of their journey, the famous Cheddar Cheese Shop and its adjacent Somerset Cider shop beckoned them in for some goodies to take home as a reminder of a fabulous days walking.
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