Mendip Hills the hills. The western end of the hills is crossed by the M5 motorway and A38. Further east, and running almost north to south, are the A37 and A39. A wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activities take place in the Mendips, many based on the particular geology of the area. The hills are recognised as a national centre for caving and cave diving, as well as being popular with climbers, hillwalkers and natural historians. Wookey Hole Caves and some of the caves in Cheddar Gorge are open as show caves; however, many of the caves of the Mendip
Cheddar Gorge monuments as nationally important archaeological sites including: Gough's Old Cave, Great Oone's Hole, Saye's Hole, Soldier's Hole and Sun Hole. Cliff Road (B3135), which runs through the Gorge, offers a popular climb for bicyclists and has a maximum gradient of 16%. The ascent featured in stage 6 of the 2011 Tour of Britain. There are about 350 officially graded rock climbing routes on the 27 cliffs that make up Cheddar Gorge, which are generally open to climbers between 1 October and 15 March each year. Each of the routes is named and included in the British Mountaineering Council guidebook. Although