Cheddar
14 February, 2009
Cheddar14 February, 2009
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Quick Links to the Pictures and Information below:
The Town Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company The Cave
With a town with such a great name, how could we resist? About a 2.5 hour drive from our place, we set off early on Saturday. Due to a metal ring in our cigarette lighter (not sure how it got in there), we set off a bit later than we planned. This ring blew the fuse to the only lighter in the car. Being a non-smoking family, it shouldn't have mattered - however, our dependency on our Garmin (Sat Nav) was high, and it was very low on batteries. I had to get this resolved, which is why I robber Peter (VW Golf) to pay Paul (Mazda 6) so we could get on the road. It was Valentines Day, and dang it, I didn't want to spend it sitting at home on one of the warmest days we've had since we've arrived - a cool 45 degrees or so. The trip was great, the kids did very well, and thankfully, so did Tina :) ha ha.
Anyway, back to Garmin - so we set tire (instead of 'Sail' ha ha) and were nearly there about two hours later. THEN... Garmin tells us to take a left at an intersection, so we do... oops. The next thing we knew, we're in a small town with a one lane road for a high (Main) street. Upon this street, we had a huge farm tractor decide to pull out and get in our, and many other, cars ways. Thankfully, I was able to find a place to pull off the road so it could get by. I'm kicking myself for having the camera's in the back of the car! Though it only gets better... We kept going and found ourselves going up a one lane muddy road, and Garmin was reporting no turn for 6 miles. With two to four feet high mud walls on both sides of the car, me white knuckling the steering wheel, and Tina nearly in tears laughing, we kept going, praying for no oncoming cars. 6 miles or so later, we made it to a 2 lane (barely) road. Looking back on it now, it was an amazing trip. Freeway's don't offer nearly enough excitement (other than the guy on my tail wanting to go about 100mph and not giving me a chance to get over...) around here.
This trip was short (one day), but we all had a great time! I know we'd all go back again sometime! (However, we'd eat somewhere else in Cheddar next time, although, at least they didn't screw up the Beer! )
Again from our book " Described as a Deep Frightful Chasm by novelist Daniel Defoe in 1724, Cheddar Gorge is a spectacular ravine cut through the Mendip plateau by fast-flowing streams during the glacial phases of the last Ice Age. Cheddar has given its name to a rich cheese which originates from here and is now produced worldwide. The caves in the gorge once provided the perfect environment of constant temperature and high humidity for storing and maturing cheese."
Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company: The only Cheddar made in Cheddar
Taken from a Brochure: "The village of Cheddar has been at the centre of England's dairy industry for centuries, with the earliest references to Cheddar cheese dating back to [the year] 1170. It was cheese makers in the Cheddar area who discovered and perfected a method of cheese making that resulted in the first authentic Cheddar Cheese."
This was the first cave Isabel and Peyton have ever been in and it was perfect. The cave was great for kids in push-chairs (strollers for Americans) as there weren't many steps after the entry to the cave. Unfortunately, a lot of my pictures didn't come out very well due to the low light, so I picked the best. It was an audio-guide tour, which is why we have the orange straps around our necks. This was a very cool tour - Isabel loved it!
