Ebbor Gorge
Local highlightA steep wooded limestone gorge on the Mendips near Wookey Hole, a National Nature Reserve with a scramble through the ravine and ice-age caves
Open accessNational Trust land — free to wander
A steep, wooded cleft in the limestone on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, Ebbor Gorge is quieter and wilder than the show caves next door at Wookey Hole. Paths climb through ash and oak woodland below grey crags, with a scramble up the narrow gorge itself for anyone who wants it and an easier loop for those who don’t. It’s a National Nature Reserve (an NNR — the top tier of protected wildlife site), owned by the National Trust and looked after by Natural England, and bones of ice-age animals have been found in its caves. Buzzards overhead and greater horseshoe bats are among the wildlife here. Wells, with its cathedral, is a few miles southeast, and the Mendip Way runs right past.
