Today we’re heading to Cheddar, home of the cheese of the same name. It’s a truly charming village, situated at the entrance to a magnificent gorge – the largest in Great Britain. There are also caves here where Cheddar cheese has been maturing since the 12th century, and in some cases still does today. The area is ideal for walking, and on the steep slopes, beginners can practise climbing under professional guidance. We’ll drive through the gorge and back, and then explore the village on foot.

For lunch, we meet up with our friend and her dog Mickey at a lovely little café with an incredibly good selection. So before long, we’re sitting on the terrace, tucking into a cheddar cheese toastie, a cheddar quiche and a cheddar cream tea with a savoury scone, onion chutney and cheddar. Everything is absolutely delicious.

Whilst Gabi, our friend, and Mickey carry on chatting on the terrace, I’d like to visit the caves. However, there are no individual tickets; only a day ticket for all of Cheddar’s attractions. So I start by climbing the Jacob’s Ladder and heading up to the viewing tower, which offers a magnificent view out over the cliffs.

They recommend doing the hike along the cliff-top walk now, but I head back down the ladder – a very long flight of steps – and visit the nearby Cox’s Cave. Animated projections tell the story of the area and explain how to tell stalactites and stalagmites apart. And there really is a huge variety of them here, in all sizes. Particularly beautiful are the little pools in which they’re reflected and into which a drop of water falls every now and then.

After a quick stop at the café, I explore the other, larger Gough’s Cave as well. Near the entrance, in a niche, lies the skeleton of Cheddar Man, the oldest almost completely preserved human skeleton in Great Britain. Cheddar Man lived here around 10,000 years ago and is a symbol of the permanent settlement of the British Isles even back then. Thanks to DNA analysis, a descendant of Cheddar Man was even traced: the teacher still lives in Cheddar. Further inside, it becomes truly spectacular: the broad stalactite walls with their folds look incredibly impressive. In a niche lies the Cheddar Camp, though you’re only allowed to view it from a distance. Further in, the audio guide draws the attention to the different appearance of the walls: here, passages were blasted and dug into the rock to allow visitors to walk a full circuit. It does indeed look different from the rest of the cave, which was formed by water.

On my way back to the café, I pop into the small prehistoric museum, which is really beautifully done, with interactive displays for the many schoolchildren on a trip to Cheddar. This includes a small Stone Age world, where an elderly woman dressed in prehistoric leather clothing explains the customs of the time.

After having a slice of cake back at the café and going for a walk together through the village, past a stonemason’s shop, we head back to the hotel before heading round to our friend’s place again for dinner. Tonight she’s cooking a lovely risotto for us, with peas, spinach and chicken. Mmmmm!