Diary of an old cheeser

Hi there! Like other blogs, this is my chance to wax lyrical (some might say talk utter cr*p) about a) what's happening in my life b) all of my pet obsessions in particular music, tv, movies, books and other generally connected things, quite often of the retro, old and "cheesy" variety. Hence the title of my blog. Feel free to leave a comment if the mood takes you. There's nothing like a good chinwag about one's favourite topics and besides I love to meet new people! Cheers, Simon

Friday, May 11, 2007

Cheddar Gorge

As you all know, last week Gustavo and I went on a mini-trip to the wondrous environs of Weston-super-Mare. And in fact our trip didn't stop there. We also ventured into deepest Somerset...and one of our expeditions was to Cheddar Caves and Gorge. The village of Cheddar itself is rather a quaint and lovely place in fact which I knew about but had never visited before. I've always been very fond of cheddar cheese though, which (oddly enough) heralds from there so naturally I was curious. And of course it fits with my moniker...

Anyway we got up to some fun and exciting things in Cheddar, starting with a bus ride through the Gorge itself, with some very impressive rocks and cliff faces...

Me and hubbie setting off on our bus trip

Our rather nutty tour guide, providing an equally nutty running commentary...

Kind of reminds me of Hanging Rock...can't see any Victorian schoolgirls though...

More impressive scenery...People are actually brave enough to climb up this!

About to enter Gough's Cave, the first of the Caves. With our audio guides. As you can see we're taking it very seriously. Click, click, brrr, brrrr, got a busy, busy line...

Interior of the caves. Actually looks rather disgusting doesn't it? Like Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory gone wrong...I bet Augustus Gloop's under that lot...

More impressive interiors. The dripping bits remind me of "Alien" for some reason...I kept expecting a face hugger to jump out...

Descending further down into the depths...Don't touch any weird-looking eggs now...

Oh no! More cheap tacky waxworks!!

And this is Richard Gough, a retired Sea Captain who discovered the cave in 1890!

And lo! Some real cheddar! Apparently they store it down here to keep it fresh.

Really like these stalagmites and stalactites. But do you know which is which?

Yes, it's some more face huggers!!

Camping it up in the caves...

We then ventured into Cox's Cave (which also contained the Crystal Quest...more tackiness). Of course you probably wouldn't notice the difference looking at the photos...

More impressive stalag-ey bits! Anyone remember that kids's show "Into The Labyrinth"? Reminds me of that...Well, I couldn't get a Dr Who reference in there...

Me and Gustvo perch our chins on something protruding...a bit of rock to be precise.

I say! Yet another tacky waxwork! These set of caves were aimed at the kiddies...

Oh dear! Look like some exes of mine.

Gustavo touches the crystal that will save the day!! Brave boy!!

I thought I'd seen the last of dry-ice breathing dragons in Wales, but obviously not!! Has this one had too many spliffs?

6 Comments:

  • At 6:18 pm , Blogger Steve said...

    Ah the Gorge! And utterly gorge it is too. Last time I was there I made the mistake of buying some of the Cheddar cheeses before embarking on the walk... given it was a hot day it was hardly surprising that I ended up with packs of cheese toothpaste by the end of it. (Great for spreading though!)

     
  • At 8:49 pm , Blogger Minge said...

    It's like Stump Hole Cavern! I can still see the boy's face...

     
  • At 1:13 pm , Blogger thomas said...

    so that's where Spencer lives these days, huh? (sorry couldn't resist)

    I haven't been there but it looks gorge-ous and very interesting...

     
  • At 11:21 am , Blogger TimeWarden said...

    Did you not visit the Wookey Hole Caves while you were there? It's where Tom, Lis and Ian filmed on location for "Revenge of the Cybermen". In fact, Lis nearly drowned for her troubles when she was out on one of the rowing boats!

    Good pics, as ever, and, although I don't remember it very well, nice to see the place again.

     
  • At 5:57 pm , Blogger Old Cheeser said...

    Steve - Ha ha, yes I almost purchased some cheddar from a gift shop but changed my mind. We did go to a local cafe and I had a cheddar ciabatta thing, but the waitress told us it wasn't even genuine cheddar from the area! Pah!!

    Minge - Stump Hole Cavern?! Somewhere Scottish?

    Thomas - Spencer? Who? (!!)

    Yes it was!

    Timewarden - No, we missed Wookey Hole, although I know it's very close and we passed a road sign pointing in its direction. And yep I did know that "Revenge" was filmed there - and heard about all the spooky going on - for once I thought I'd spare everyone a Dr Who reference though!! Next time we go to Somerset we'll have to pay it a visit.

     
  • At 4:13 pm , Blogger Minge said...

    It's an infamous scene from The League Of Gentlemen.

     

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home