The way winds
between steep limestone walls and towering pinnacles, rising here and
there to a height of between four and five hundred feet, and absolutely
shutting one in from even the merest glimpse of the magnificent scenery
in the valley below. There are paths here and there leading up to points
of vantage, but the way is difficult and dangerous owing to the manner
in which the passes are honeycombed with caverns and fissures.
In the midst of the gorge on the right hand of the way lie the entrances
to the marvellous stalactite caves, the first of which was discovered in
1837, and the second in comparatively recent times. It is needless to
say that the proprietor of each cave affirms his to be the better--as a
matter of fact, both are well worth seeing. One looks with something
like awe on the fantastic shapes of the stalagmites and stalactites in
these huge caverns, where the moisture, percolating through the earth,
has been dripping in the darkness for countless centuries, each
lime-laden drop lengthening imperceptibly the stalactite overhead and
the stalagmite beneath, while the consequent splashings, and, in some
parts, more sluggish dripping, make hundreds of quaint and suggestive
forms above and below. The caverns are well lit up to display their
beauties, and the admission is 2s. for a single visitor, or 1s. each for
members of a party.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
CHEDDAR CLIFFS.
The road leading to the limestone caves.
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