Cheddar Gorge & Caves
Cheddar Gorge & Caves
4
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Visit the spectacular Cheddar Gorge and Caves; an immersive and adventurous day out for the whole family (including dogs!). A Day Ticket gives you access to six incredible attractions at Cheddar Gorge and Caves: Gough's Cave (including audio tour), Museum of Prehistory, Cox's Cave featuring Yeo's Journey, Jacob's Ladder and the Lookout Tower, Cliff-Top Walk, Beyond the View: A cinematic experience. Still craving adventure? Visitors can enjoy our Rocksport; with Adventure Caving and Rock Climbing available, we'll have you climbing up rock faces, exploring hidden, underground caverns or taking a leap of faith with our exhilarating Black Cat Freefall or see if they have what it takes in our Cheddar themed Escape Rooms. Or sit back, relax, and take in the gorge's beauty at Gough’s Café. Enjoy a thirst-quenching chilled drink, warm yourself up with a hot beverage or choose from a selection of alcoholic drinks. Serving light lunches, snacks, cream teas and cake.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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- fire-tower3,123 contributionsYou can enjoy a nice leisurely walk along a trailDefinitely a place to visit. Gough’s Cave is the better of the 2 caves, the other being Cox’s Cave. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder will take you up to the top where you can enjoy a nice leisurely walk along a trail where you might come close and personal with some goats. Climb the tower for a good view of the surrounding areas. One important tip - make sure you check the weather forecast and avoid a rainy or wet day as the trail will be muddy.Visited September 2023Travelled with familyWritten 11 October 2023
- irina jLondon, United Kingdom3,555 contributionsGood hike and cavesReally enjoyed Gough’s cave as it was beautiful inside and very spacious. Audio guide helps to understand the history and surroundings. Great to see where they still keep cheese for maturity . Walk is beautiful however it’s important to wear proper shoes. One of our parties slipped and has fallen twisting knee. Walking down was a nightmare but 2 first aiders came from the shop next to Jacob ladder to assist situation and give us some pain killers. Our experience of cause was spoiled by the fall but otherwise a lovely and interesting placeVisited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten 17 October 2023
- BackinBracknellBracknell, United Kingdom1,584 contributionsGough's Cave is fantastic but other 'attractions' not worth itWebsite advertises 6 "attractions" and while Gough's Cave is spectacular, the other things included are pretty rubbish. Jacobs Ladder is just a lot of steps to get the top of the Gorge but you don't need to pay to do the walk as it's all public footpaths and there are other ways up and down. The viewing tower gives you a better view across the town and the countryside but don't expect to see down into the Gorge as it's not visible from there. You have to buy one ticket for everything and £23 is very expensive though you can use Tesco vouchers if you exchange them in advance and this makes it more reasonable.Visited October 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 24 October 2023
- aa2walesCardiff, United Kingdom122 contributionsGood tripWe spent a morning here as a family of 4. We explored Gough cave, Cox’s cave, Jacob’s ladder and the look out tower and had a brief look around the museum. Goughs cave was interesting with hand held audio guides with a special version for kids. We enjoyed it. Cox’s cave had a multimedia presentation at various points projected on the cave walls which talks about early man and cave people. It’s done in a quite arty style with flashing lights and sounds etc. My very sensitive 9 year old found it a little scary but I would say on the whole it’s fine for kids. Climbing the many many steps up Jacobs ladder and then to the lookout point for a good view was fun. There is a 3 mile walk which we didn’t do because little legs were tired but we walked to the first viewpoint only. There is a small prehistoric museum as well which is interesting. Parking is £6 for the whole day which does add up on top of your ticket price but we had a good morningVisited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten 30 October 2023
- carole e21 contributionsNot worth the moneyDepressing. I'd visited Cheddar Gorge and caves as a child, sadly as an adult it was very disappointing. We stopped off on the way home from Cornwall and yes, it's November and one of the caves was closed for flooding, but we were still charged £30+ for two people to essentially walk through one small cave and then up some steps (Jacob's ladder). Absolutely not worth the money.Thank you for your review. We are sorry you were disappointed that Gough's Cave was closed. Our other five attractions were fully open and accessible. Unfortunately a natural occurrence such as flooding is out of our control, but we did offer visitors a substantial discount as compensation . Kind regards Cheddar Gorge & CavesWritten 27 November 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 12 November 2023
- warminsterwink115 contributionsSanta visitI purchased spur of the moment tickets for santa visit. The experience itself is lovely and the santa was fab, we sang, we listened to stories and we woke santa up. But the gift could do with being thought about more. Its not particularly age appropriate. A 6 year old gifted something suitable for a 3 year old and the 10 year old given some selfie props. I accept this was something advertised as token gifts but they still need to be relevant. A drawing pad and pencil would have more use. That said, we intend to regift ours and the experience as a whole was a memorable one. It's not all about the gift at the end of the day. The cox's cave was a favourite for us.Thank you for your review. We are delighted you enjoyed our Father Christmas Grotto experience. We have fed back your comments to our Christmas team regarding the token gifts. We hope to see you again next year. Kind regards Cheddar Gorge & CavesWritten 22 November 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited November 2023Travelled with familyWritten 20 November 2023
- ZoeWales, United Kingdom187 contributionsAbsolutely amazingWe visited last Friday, and wow ,what an amazing place, I had no idea how interesting and beautiful the caves are. When we arrived we met the lovely Meg at the ticket office who is so friendly and gave us lots of information on the caves , she also gave us auto guides to listen to as we went along which give a lot of information on the discovery of the caves as well as explanations as to how the rock formations were created. The caves are magnificent, the formations incredible, but the best was to come, and that was the last two caves which are truly remarkable…. In the last cave we talked with one of the staff, Josh, who explained to us in detail and with such enthusiasm, the history of the caves, the type of minerals there etc… he is himself a gem, and he talks with such passion, and he really knows his stuff! He is a credit to Cheddar gorge,and I think they are very fortunate to have such a superb member of staff. All in all a great day out , enhanced by wonderful staff…. Go there!Visited January 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 14 January 2024
- N HNewton Le Willows, United Kingdom4,548 contributionsTwo caves and good viewsThere are a few things to go for your £22.95 - two caves, a museum, a walk around the top of the gorge and a look out tower. The caves were interesting with one having an audio tour and cox’s cave having videos around the walkway. There is a steep climb up to the top of the gorge and the lookout tower but the views are worth it. It’s a bit expensive for what you get and I’m not sure it’s worth it.Visited January 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 25 January 2024
- William MBournemouth, United Kingdom87 contributionsA great natural attraction needing a spruce-upA fantastic natural feature which is very well presented inside Goughs Caves, but less so in Cox. Jacobs Ladder is beyond elderly people which makes the overall visit a bit pricey. Car parking in Cheddar is very reasonable though. Regrettably the overall impression of Cheddar is that the place is looking tired and dated.Visited February 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 4 February 2024
- SpewOwer, United Kingdom43 contributionsAmazing place.I love this place. this is one of my favourite places. Just the drive through the gorge on arrival is worth the trip. A feast for the eyes. I didn't go in the caves this time as I have been so many times before, we decided to give it a miss this time. We were happy just admiring the views and visiting all the little shops. We had a lovely cream tea at the bottom of the gorge and I treated myself to a beautiful leather jacket from the leather shop at a very reasonable price for the quality. Also grabbed some cheddar cheese to take home with us. Lots of choice and very tasty.Visited July 2023Travelled with familyWritten 12 March 2024
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4.0
4,131 reviews
Excellent
1,888
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1,301
Average
551
Poor
217
Terrible
172
David
254 contributions
Apr 2021
Myself and some friends went camping in the Cheddar Gorge area we went on Easter Monday and stayed for just two nights. I have never been camping before so it was a first and I must say the time spent here was just magnificent. The views of the area, the animals, the tranquility, the stars... were simply mesmerising. I haven't seen views like I did here, in yearsss. The caves itself were closed, as we went during lockdown so there wasn't much to do, but we did set up tents, campfires, explored other areas etc not too far from the Gorge and town area. Ultimately, we just kind of winged it.
But just being away in the wild/woods, away from city noise, distractions, constant indulging and getting to be one with God's creation was truly therapeutic. I would highly recommend visiting here even if you're just visiting for a few hours or the day. The cliffs, the views and the landscape are worth it.
But just being away in the wild/woods, away from city noise, distractions, constant indulging and getting to be one with God's creation was truly therapeutic. I would highly recommend visiting here even if you're just visiting for a few hours or the day. The cliffs, the views and the landscape are worth it.
Written 12 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
N D
Lincolnshire, UK1,501 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
We parked in the car park at the side of the road. It was £5.20 for the day; I recommend you download the JustPark app before you set off.
Jacob’s Ladder was £5 per person which is a lot to climb a set of stairs to a site which is free (there are other routes up to the gorge for free). The viewing tower at the top is closed as are all the caves.
Once at the top, there is still a steep walk to reach the peak of the gorge. I recommend good shoes. The views are good.
The walk along the top is about 3 miles and brings you down onto a busy road to walk back into the town. It’s about 2 miles to walk back with no path. I wouldn’t want to do it with children.
Enjoyable, but not amazing.
Jacob’s Ladder was £5 per person which is a lot to climb a set of stairs to a site which is free (there are other routes up to the gorge for free). The viewing tower at the top is closed as are all the caves.
Once at the top, there is still a steep walk to reach the peak of the gorge. I recommend good shoes. The views are good.
The walk along the top is about 3 miles and brings you down onto a busy road to walk back into the town. It’s about 2 miles to walk back with no path. I wouldn’t want to do it with children.
Enjoyable, but not amazing.
Written 10 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
M Missy
Manchester, UK47 contributions
Jul 2020 • Friends
The scenery and magnificence of the gorge is just breathtaking.
We went post lockdown and many of the carparks along the gorge were empty which was a bonus allowing plenty of stops for kodak moments.
The Caves and Jacobs Ladder were closed but plenty of people were jumping the turn-style to climb Jacobs Ladder, personally I didn’t fancy climbing 200+ steps so I sat that one out.
The shops were a bit cheesy - pardon the pun, but when in Cheddar you have to buy Cheddar.
Would recommend going early morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds.
We went post lockdown and many of the carparks along the gorge were empty which was a bonus allowing plenty of stops for kodak moments.
The Caves and Jacobs Ladder were closed but plenty of people were jumping the turn-style to climb Jacobs Ladder, personally I didn’t fancy climbing 200+ steps so I sat that one out.
The shops were a bit cheesy - pardon the pun, but when in Cheddar you have to buy Cheddar.
Would recommend going early morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds.
Written 26 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane B
Birmingham, UK64 contributions
Feb 2020
A ticket for the caves in Cheddar Gorge gives access to a number of attractions. Gough's Cave is the must see! This extensive and impressive series of caves is well lit and fairly easily accessible to all in sensible footwear (however be warned that some areas are only accessible via stairs). It is self guided with a provided audio tour available in a variety of languages. I'd say that the average time to go around the caves would be about 45 minutes. We loved it!
You also get access to the 'themed' Dream Hunters multi-media experience in Cox's Cave. This shows the life of early man via sound and videos projected on to the walls of the cave. This is a smaller series of caves and is a little tighter to get around, but is still accessible to most. It takes about 25 minutes to go around this.
Jacob's Ladder is a climb of about 275 steep stairs. Good for the energetic that like a view! Beyond the View is a video history of the Gorge. Far less energetic but worth a look if you need a breather! Access to this is via the gift shop. There is also a Museum of Prehistory which is small but quite interesting - beware the cave bear!
Altogether, for one ticket, this is a diverse and varied set of experiences that both kids and adults can enjoy.
You also get access to the 'themed' Dream Hunters multi-media experience in Cox's Cave. This shows the life of early man via sound and videos projected on to the walls of the cave. This is a smaller series of caves and is a little tighter to get around, but is still accessible to most. It takes about 25 minutes to go around this.
Jacob's Ladder is a climb of about 275 steep stairs. Good for the energetic that like a view! Beyond the View is a video history of the Gorge. Far less energetic but worth a look if you need a breather! Access to this is via the gift shop. There is also a Museum of Prehistory which is small but quite interesting - beware the cave bear!
Altogether, for one ticket, this is a diverse and varied set of experiences that both kids and adults can enjoy.
Written 25 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LAURA E
Shefford, UK174 contributions
Apr 2022 • Couples
We visited on a Friday of the May Bank Holiday weekend suspecting it could be busy. As you would expect, the area is touristy with cheese,cider,fudge and souvenir shops.
When we arrived, it wasn’t very clear where to park so we travelled through the twisty roads of the gorge then came back on ourselves and parked opposite the main ticket entrance. We paid for parking online, it was difficult to know how long to park for but when you book you automatically pay for a whole day for £5 so you don’t have to worry. I’m not sure if this would be the same in peak season?
Payment for all attractions is £20. There didn’t seem to be any discounts. We walked up to the main cave, Goughs cave and used the audio guide. It takes about 40 minutes and it was interesting. We watched Beyond a view in the shop (we found it a bit annoying there is no countdown so you don’t know when the next viewing is). Then walked across the road to the museum which took about 10 minutes (you could spend longer). We had lunch in one of the cafes. Unfortunately the light/sound experience in Coxs cave wasn’t working so it only took us about 10 mins to walk through the cave then out to Jacob’s Ladder. We walked up the steps then went to the lookout tower but you could give this a miss. We started to walk the trail at the top but there didn’t seem to be much to see so headed back.
The whole experience including stopping for lunch took us 2 hours. If Coxs cave is running then you would probably need another half an hour and maybe do this cave first if there are no crowds. If you wanted to do the trail you would need another 90 minutes.
When we arrived, it wasn’t very clear where to park so we travelled through the twisty roads of the gorge then came back on ourselves and parked opposite the main ticket entrance. We paid for parking online, it was difficult to know how long to park for but when you book you automatically pay for a whole day for £5 so you don’t have to worry. I’m not sure if this would be the same in peak season?
Payment for all attractions is £20. There didn’t seem to be any discounts. We walked up to the main cave, Goughs cave and used the audio guide. It takes about 40 minutes and it was interesting. We watched Beyond a view in the shop (we found it a bit annoying there is no countdown so you don’t know when the next viewing is). Then walked across the road to the museum which took about 10 minutes (you could spend longer). We had lunch in one of the cafes. Unfortunately the light/sound experience in Coxs cave wasn’t working so it only took us about 10 mins to walk through the cave then out to Jacob’s Ladder. We walked up the steps then went to the lookout tower but you could give this a miss. We started to walk the trail at the top but there didn’t seem to be much to see so headed back.
The whole experience including stopping for lunch took us 2 hours. If Coxs cave is running then you would probably need another half an hour and maybe do this cave first if there are no crowds. If you wanted to do the trail you would need another 90 minutes.
Written 1 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan T
World1 contribution
Apr 2023 • Family
Terrible. Paid £97 for 2 adults and 3 primary school children. Then on arrival a further £6 to park. When we got to the ticket office the main cave was closed due to flooding - that’s ok these things happen when it’s been the wettest March in 40 years a discount was offered which took us down to £65 I was thinking this seemed like a lot was determined to make the best of it… It was just all a bit rubbish. Lots of people walking around confused as to how they had managed to spend £££ on a walk through a village. Cox’s cave could have saved the day the day however all the videos kept tripping because groups behind us kept wandering through and restarting them all. When I tried to explain to a staff member that this was disappointing she shrugged and said there was nothing they could do.
Written 1 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma N
Brierley Hill, UK19 contributions
Oct 2020 • Family
Although the caves are closed due to COVID-19 this place was wonderful to visit. Beautiful place a
We walked up Jacob ladders. Not for the faint hearted but once at the top its worth the view.
We did go in to the museum. Small but intresting
Tickets at present for Jacobs ladders and museum access
Adults £5.50
Children £4.00
We walked up Jacob ladders. Not for the faint hearted but once at the top its worth the view.
We did go in to the museum. Small but intresting
Tickets at present for Jacobs ladders and museum access
Adults £5.50
Children £4.00
Written 29 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DERRICK S
Lowestoft, UK5 contributions
Jul 2022 • Friends
Lovely place to visit however having to pay one ticket price for all the attractions is a put off. Anyone not able to go in the caves or enjoy the cliff top walk could end up paying a hefty price to go into a small museum. Things ought to be individually paid for so as not to preclude people who for whatever reason can’t access all the attractions
Written 28 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julie A
Maidstone, UK149 contributions
Aug 2022
Parking a bit of a nightmare, we were there early so plenty of spaces, but you had to pay at the caves ticket office, which was yet to open. The first office were then unable to take payment due to an IT issue, so eventually paid at Gogh's cave. Gogh's cave was incredible - the audio guide was really useful, and the sights were just breathtaking. After that, Cox's cave was a real let-down; I can see that they have tried to create a more interactive experience for the kids, but it wasn't well done unfortunately, and lots of it was unclear. The museum was interesting, with workshops for the children, and Jacob's ladder was quite an experience! Our main gripe with Cheddar was the shops and cafes - we booked the first time slot for the caves, but still found it difficult to fit in everything before things started to close. We did all of the attractions first, to leave time for a nice late lunch and a walk around the shops. We went to a cafe at 3, to find that they had stopped serving food at 2.30! Some of the shops closed early, including the tourist information office, which was incredible considering that this was peak season! Many of the shops were disappointing as well; was expecting some quirky, one of a kind type shops, but most had items typically found in many seaside shops, but more expensive. The gorge itself is beautiful, and Gogh's cave is incredible, so it is worth going just for these.
Written 20 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Work2TravelUk
UK114 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
We were first into Goughs cave at 10am, beautiful start with a good audio guide, St Pauls and the Diamond caves very impressive. This cave is worth the entry price (can use Tesco vouchers 😉) plus you get lots of other attractions too. Jacobs Ladder is manageable for most, lots of stop points and great views from the lookout tower. Gorge walk is tough, rough path and VERY slippery when wet...but well worth it, allow enough time if you're up for the challenge. Out of season quite a lot of shops are shut completely or close at 4. Ticket lasts a year so if you're on holiday don't worry about doing it all in a day 😀And ALL dog friendly, thank you Cheddar 🐾
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How many steps inside the caves. Thanks.
Written 15 September 2024
Not many in the first cave and some you don't have to use at all if you don't want to. They are solid concrete steps but, obviously, can get wet. In the second cave, I don't remember there being any steps but the path was rough and uneven. If, however, you want to climb Jacob's Ladder, that has over 200 steps.
Written 16 September 2024
No I believe they are still closed, due to an ongoing issue with the owners we were told by a local.
Written 26 August 2021
Is Jacobs ladder open? Do you have to pay to use come down them ?
Written 17 June 2021
Planning a trip to Cheddar and really wanted to go to the caves but they are closed (gough cave is closed due to covid) is Wookie hole, which is open, as good?
Written 14 June 2021
It’s ok, but all about the preference
There’s more to do outside Whookey
Written 15 June 2021
Sorry, i don't know, but restaurants, pubs and cafes, are open
Written 18 August 2020
Can you just buy a ticket to visit the main cave and not have to pay to do all the other things. If so how much is it please. Thank you.
Written 30 January 2020
It's all one price. We literally just went last week. You can get a discount if book tickets online in advance. Otherwise it's about £19 ish per adult. This gives you access to both caves, the museum, Jacobs ladder ect. When you visit one of the attractions you get your ticket punched to shown youve used it. Having said that the only places that punched our tickets were the two caves as the other bits weren't manned that day but could still be accessed. It's well worth the money. I'm sure the man selling the ticket said you get a certain amount of time too to return and visit the attractions you haven't had time to see if you unfortunately run out of time.
Written 1 February 2020
How much time do you need to allow yourself for the visit?
Written 23 November 2019
A full day is advised on busy periods, but depends in your interests, they have a 4d cinema and lots of other activities, we didn't do them all like fishing for gold and still filled the day
Written 3 January 2020
Which is the least busy day to visit?
Written 30 October 2019
A good question! We were there on a Bank Holiday so it was mobbed! A school day would be best. Parking is decent though beware you will need cash or have to get code through your mobile as the parking machines haven't been upgraded to take chip and pin and or contactless cards.
Written 4 November 2019
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