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Mendips Accommodation

Mendip Hills rolling green countryside

Chew Valley Lake is good for birdwatching

Wooded Mendip Hills around Cheddar Gorge

Chew Valley Lake is also good for fishing and feeding the ducks

The Mendips limestone makes it excellent for caving and climbing

Learn to rock climb at Cheddar Gorge or with any of the outdoor activity providers

Beautiful Mendip hillsides with old hedgerows and trees

Mendip towns with historic buildings made from local stone

The Mendip Hills Somerset Caving Mountain Biking Walks in Mendips Chew Valley Lake

The Mendips are a ridge of carboniferous limestone hills that run from Bristol in the west to Frome in the east of Somerset. They contrast sharply with the flat Somerset Levels which flow out south from the base of the Mendip Hills. The limestone has been valuable as a commodity in the past and there are many quarries dotted around the Mendips as well as the magnificent caves carved by water seeping through them for thousands of years at Cheddar and Wookey Hole.

Outdoor activities are popular in the Mendips. There are plenty of caving and climbing opportunities and certainly gives you a different perspective of the area. There are plenty of walks crossing the hills and walking the hills will give you the best views of the area. If you fancy less strenuous walks you'll find riverside walk and gentle strolls down in the valleys. Mountain biking trails have also been identified throughout the Mendip Hills with a variety of difficulty gradings so there's something to suit everyone.

The Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Mendips are a limestone ridge of hills that gives North Somerset much of its character with rolling green countryside dotted with flower rich grasslands, ancient hedgerows and woodlands. This landscape is fantastic for all sorts of wildlife including a huge variety of bat species including the rare horseshoe bats.

The Mendip Hills are a focal point for enjoying the countryside in North Somerset whether it be walking or outdoor activities. As an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) activities are managed to conserve the character and protect the landscape and wildlife of the area. The boundary of the Mendip Hills AONB actually runs from south of Weston-super-Mare across to Chew Valley Lake and Chewton Mendip.

Check out the Mendip Hills AONB website for an interactive map showing viewpoints and places of interest within the AONB area - excellent for making sure you get those stunning photos. They also produce a good quality paper version available in tourist information centres. You can also download maps and walk or bike cards from their website to help plan your outdoor pursuits in the Mendips.

The AONB Service also organises a range of courses and guided walks Mendip Hills AONB Service, Charterhouse Centre, Blagdon, Bristol BS40 7XR 44 (0)1761 462338 Company email mendiphills@somerset.gov.uk.

Chew Valley Lake Birdwatching Fly Fishing Somerset UK

Chew Valley Lake is a popular, easily accessible visitor attraction in the Mendips. It is the fifth largest reservoir in the UK and was created to provide Bristol with drinking water in the 1950s. It is fringed with common reed and is a popular bird watching haunt. In fact it receives national and international protection due to it being an important staging post for migrating waders, terns and warblers. You're likely to see a good range of wintering wildfowl too such as shoveler, gadwall, teal, tufted duck, goldeneye, wigeon, snipe, lapwing and redshank.

The Glebe Trail here is an easygoing walk that is accessible for prams and wheelchairs. You can download a leaflet from the Bath and North East Somerset Council's website, link right. There is also a Visitor Centre at Chew Valley Lake.

Chew Valley Lake is also a world renowned trout fishery where fly fishing is popular. Tickets are available for either boat or bank fishing. Check the Bristol Water weblink right for more information and a downloadable copy of their fishing in Somerset brochure that includes futher details of Chew Valley Lake. The fishing season runs from 15 March to 30 November. Permits are available from Woodford Lodge. Contact Tel: 01275 332339. Fax 01275 331377. Email woodford.lodge@bristolwater.co.uk.

There are other fishing lakes around this area and the Bristol Water website has more information on these and other activities such as sailing.

Outdoor Activities Cheddar Gorge Somerset

Cheddar Gorge is one of the few places in the country where you can just turn up and go rock climbing, abseiling or more adventurous exploration of Cheddar Caves by caving beneath the Mendip Hills

Rocksport is based at Cheddar Caves and Gorge and offer training on rock climbing, abseiling and adventure caving. For climbing and abseiling instruction you get to climb up a 50 foot rock face in Cheddar Gorge itself. This is a one and half hour introductory taster lesson and you can hire all necessary equipment. An excellent way to find out if you want to take it further. The instructors are registered with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority. Sessions are available every day from March to October.

The caving instruction is led by a National Caving Association qualified Caving Leader, through a system of "wild" caves beyond the caverns of Gough's Cave. It is best to book in advance and you can hire all the equipment needed from Rocksport. You will need reasonable fitness and the minimum age for caving is 11 and a minimum height of 4 foot 8 inches (142cm). Adventure caving is available every day, all year round (except Christmas Eve and Day).

If you want to book a group or have special medical needs, learning difficulties or physical disabilities it is best to call Rocksport first. Tel: 01934 742343. Rocksport Email: RockSport@visitcheddar.co.uk.

Adventure Activities Mendips

The Mendip Hills provide lots of opportunities for adventure activities. The limestone that underlies the Mendips is easily eroded by water so caves and potholes form easily. Many of these have been explored by local cavers - many of whom now offer their expertise as part of adventure activity courses or team building events.

The sides of the gorges in the Mendips provide some excellent climbing opportunities. You can try it out as an introduction and progress onto steeper climbs all within the Mendip area.

There is a whole host of outdoor activity companies operating in the Mendips area. Check the weblinks right for details of climbing and caving companies some of whom also offer other outdoor pursuits in the Mendips.

Mountain Bike Trails Mendips Hills

There are several mountain biking trails that take you right round the Mendip Hills ridge.

The Mendip Fat Tyre Trails are three circular routes graded easy, moderate or difficult/severe. They criss cross the Mendip Hills so you can do different parts to suit your ability or link them up for longer rides.

You can download bike cards and biking maps from the Mendip Hills AONB Publications section of their website, link right.

West Mendip Way

The West Mendip Way is a long distance walking route starting in Uphill near Weston-super-Mare, taking you through the southern scarp of the Mendip Hills overlooking the Somerset Levels, through Cheddar Gorge, down to Wookey Hole and ending in Wells.

The route is 28 miles long taking you through some of Somerset's most stunning landscapes. Some people base their holiday around completing the whole walk over a period of days or you can just pick different sections to complete during your stay in the Mendips. You sure to find comfortable holiday accommodation along the way.

You can download a guide to the West Mendip Way from the AONB publications website, link right, as well as walking guides for other walks in the Mendips.

There are plenty of other shorter walks through the Mendips, many start off from around the Charterhouse Centre - an outdoor centre and the base for the AONB Service near Blagdon. These take you through Blackmoor and Longwood Nature Reserve and up to the highest point in the Mendips, Beacon Bath on Blackdown. Again leaflets can be downloaded from the AONB website.

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