Editing Cheddar Gorge (section)

== Recreational use ==
[[File:cheddargorge01.jpg|thumb|alt=Exposed limestone cliffs with vegetation above white buildings with large windows.|Exposed limestone cliffs above visitor centre and restaurant]]
Cliff Road (B3135), which runs through the Gorge, offers a popular climb for bicyclists and has a maximum gradient of 16%.<ref>{{cite book|last=Warren|first=Simon|title=100 greatest cycling climbs : a road cyclist's guide to Britain's hills|year=2010|publisher=Frances Lincoln|location=London|isbn=978-0-7112-3120-7|pages=175}}</ref> The ascent featured in stage 6 of the [[2011 Tour of Britain]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2011 Tour of Britain|url=http://www.tourofbritain.com/_ns_history/history_2011.asp|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504064001/http://www.tourofbritain.com/_ns_history/history_2011.asp|archive-date=4 May 2012}}</ref>

There are about 590&nbsp;graded rock climbing routes on the South side of the gorge,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=240|title=Cheddar Gorge South|date=21 June 2019|publisher=ukclimbing.com|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=9 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209190129/https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/cheddar_gorge_south-240/|url-status=live}}</ref> which are generally open to climbers between 1 October and 15 March each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/download.aspx?id=1732|title=Cheddar Gorge Climbing Access|date=1 January 2019|publisher=thebmc.co.uk|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=9 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209190115/https://www.thebmc.co.uk/Handlers/DownloadHandler.ashx?id=1732|url-status=live}}</ref> The North side of the gorge has about 380 climbing routes and the land is predominantly owned by the National Trust and mapped as Open Access land which give a right of access for climbers all year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=2280|title=Cheddar Gorge North|date=21 June 2019|publisher=ukclimbing.com|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=19 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719103011/https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=2280|url-status=live}}</ref> Each of the routes is named and included in the [[British Mountaineering Council]] guidebook. Although the majority of the climbs are "trad" or "traditional", which means that the leader places protection as they go up, there are also some "sport" routes where bolts are left in place. Climber [[Chris Bonington]] was the first to scale the ''Coronation Street'' route in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=1200|title=ExWeb Special: The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington, part 3|work=ExplorersWeb|publisher=mounteverest.net|access-date=7 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116180907/http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=1200|archive-date=16 January 2008}}</ref>

Visitors to the gorge have experienced a number of accidents.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6490889.stm | title= Man injured in Cheddar Gorge fall | date= 24 March 2007 | work= BBC News | access-date= 15 July 2007 | archive-date= 23 May 2023 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024440/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6490889.stm | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6100820.stm | title= Woman rescued from gorge cliffs | date= 30 October 2006 | work= BBC News | access-date= 15 July 2007 | archive-date= 11 July 2020 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200711204242/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/6100820.stm | url-status= live }}</ref> Rescue services, including local [[mountain rescue]] and [[cave rescue]] groups, frequently use the gorge to stage exercises. It is also used as a training location for military rescue helicopter pilots.

The '''Cheddar Man Museum of Prehistory''' inspired by the discovery of ancient hominids such as [[Cheddar Man]] contains information about the caves and their [[paleontology|palaeontological]] development. Exhibits include original [[flint]] tools and human remains excavated from the caves. The Visitors' Centre and Restaurant is an important [[Modern architecture|Modernist]] design by [[Geoffrey Jellicoe]], dating from 1934.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.architecture.com/image-library/RIBApix/image-information/poster/the-caveman-restaurant-goughs-cave-cheddar-gorge/posterid/RIBA2578-11.html|title=The Caveman Restaurant, Gough's Cave, Cheddar Gorge|publisher=Royal Institute of British Architects|website=RIBApix|access-date=29 August 2020|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020022906/https://www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-information/poster/the-caveman-restaurant-goughs-cave-cheddar-gorge/posterid/RIBA2578-11.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Jellicoe was commissioned by the [[Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath|fifth Marquess of Bath]], and created a two-block structure with a rooftop pool. He drew inspiration from [[International Style (architecture)|International Modernist]] buildings, including the [[De La Warr Pavilion]]. The integrity of the building has been greatly compromised. In the 1960s, the glass roof to the restaurant, and the pool set above it, were removed to increase seating capacity, and it has since been re-clad in poor quality materials. Michael Spens, in his comprehensive study, ''The Complete Landscape Designs and Gardens of Geoffrey Jellicoe'', writes that it is "now barely recognizable as a pioneer construction of the modern period".<ref>{{cite book|last=Spens|first=Michael|title=The Complete Landscape Designs and Gardens of Geoffrey Jellicoe|year=1994|publisher=Thames & Hudson|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-01596-4|pages=44–47}}</ref>

There is a clifftop walk from Jacob's Ladder along the crest of the gorge and back to the road, with views of the gorge. A [[caving]] experience is offered within Gough's Cave. There is a path of 274&nbsp;steps, built up the side of the gorge, known as [[Jacob's Ladder (Bible)|Jacob's Ladder]] after the [[Bible|Biblical]] description of a ladder to the [[heaven]]s. A [[watchtower]] at the top provides a 360–degree view of the entire area and village. An open-top bus tour operates during the summer. [[Cheddar cheese]] is made in the lower part of the gorge.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

[[File:360ViewOfCheddarVillageAndGorge.jpg|alt=Hills covered with green vegetation. To the left in the distance are houses and water. Ahead is exposed rock.|thumb|600px|center|View of [[Cheddar, Somerset|Cheddar]] Village, [[Cheddar Reservoir|reservoir]], [[Batts Combe quarry]] and gorge taken from the watchtower at the top of Jacob's Ladder]]