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Cheddar is often used as an overnight stop
by people on their way to a holiday in Cornwall and Devon, but
the whole Somerset area is a great holiday destination in its
own right and too often overlooked when zipping through on the
M5.
For most people in the UK, driving all the way down
to Devon and Cornwall resorts takes two or three hours longer each way than just
going to Somerset. You can avoid the busy beaches and traffic jams, use the time
you would have spent stuck in the car doing something more pleasant instead,
still enjoy the West Country environment, save on petrol costs and also therefore
reduce your carbon footprint just a little bit. Plus many other smaller attractions such as:
You can also use Cheddar as a base for touring the local area. Here are six ideas for great days out, offering something for everyone - and this excludes a day spent in Cheddar itself, so that's a whole week's worth...!
Other places of interest nearby include:
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PLACES TO VISIT
Cheddar
Gorge and Caves
The
Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company
About
40 minutes' drive north-east from us, up the gorge and
over the Mendips is historic Bath. Spend a day browsing
the specialist shops, and visiting the various Roman sites,
plus much more besides. 
20
minutes' drive to the south is Glastonbury, where you can
climb the Tor and visit the Abbey, as well as browsing the
various "alternative" shops in the town centre.
The town of Street is right next door and is home to the
vast Clarks Factory Shopping village.
20
minutes' drive to the north west is Weston Super Mare - for
all the traditional seaside resort attractions - acres of
sand, donkey rides, miniature railway, aquarium, and the
Ground Force memorial garden for Jill Dando - to name just
a few. 
Just
under an hour's drive away is Bishops Lydeard, the start
of the West Somerset Railway, running steam and heritage
diesel services to the coast at Minehead. Leave your car,
get on the train to Dunster and disembark for a 20-minute
walk to see a wonderfully preserved example of a medieval
English village complete with its own castle.
Head
out of Bridgwater on the A39 (just 30 minutes down the motorway)
and you are on the north Somerset coast road. Climb the notorious
25% gradient of Porlock Hill for outstanding car-window
views. Do lunch at picturesque Lynmouth and experience the
Cliff Railway, and return across Exmoor via Tarr Steps and
chocolate-box Dulverton to regain the M5 at Taunton.