Geography Teaching Today

This section introduces students to the spectacular limestone landscape of Cheddar Gorge, how is was formed and why people visit it and for what purposes.

Key questions:

• What is Cheddar Gorge like?
• How did the Gorge form?
• Who visits the Gorge?

Key Concepts:
Place
Space
Physical & human processes

What is Cheddar Gorge like?
Cheddar Gorge is one of Britain's best known limestone features and also its largest gorge forming part of a series of features; the Cheddar Complex. The gorge is a dramatic gash in the wooded landscape with grey limestone cliffs, almost vertical in places, reaching almost to 500ft and three miles long. The importance of the site has been recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with numerous caves. These caves fired the imagination of JRR Tolkien, author of the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy.

How did the Gorge form?
Cheddar Gorge is a spectacular river feature scoured out by torrents of melt water at the end of the last Ice Age which cut down rapidly into the Carboniferous Limestone. Former river sediments can be found high up on ledges on the sides of the gorge indicating that it was vertical erosion of the river bed that was responsible for its formation. Although the area is riddled with caves and caverns it does not appear that it was formed by their collapse. It appears that freeze thaw weathering occurred as water entered the joints in the limestone during the cold period at the end of the last Ice Age and this may also have been responsible for shaping the sides of the gorge.

Who visits the Gorge?
Cheddar Gorge is a major tourist honey-pot with approximately 500,000 people visiting the area of Cheddar Gorge every year, with up to 400,000 of them visiting the show caves. Most visitors are tourists staying within 30 miles of Cheddar but very few come from the local communities. The visitor profile indicates that most are first time visitors, are between 25 and 44 and may visit with their children. Peak visitor numbers to this honey-pot site occur during Bank Holidays and the summer. These include walkers, birdwatchers, climbers and sightseers.

Click on an activity:
Starter
Main activity
Plenary

Downloads:
5Ws worksheet

5Ws worksheet (Flash version)

Google Earth (shows Cheddar in high resolution)

Interactives:

Limestone landscapes: Cheddar Gorge connections

Word version of Limestone landscapes: Cheddar Gorge Connections

Limestone landscapes: Formation

Word version of Limestone landscapes; Formation