Cheddar is a village in the south-west of England in an area threaded with deep gorges. This popular travel wonder is famous for being the original home for a tasty hard cheese and for its limestone caves.
The unremarkable photo is part of Jacob’s Ladder (named after the stairway to heaven), an ordinary set of 274 concrete steps through light forest, which take visitors from the gorge floor to a view over the expanse of county Somerset. To give an idea of the huge passage of time, it gets visitors to imagine that each step represents one million years. On that basis, the dinosaurs roamed the Earth for around 160 steps, dying out about 65 stairs ago while the caves were carved by flowing waters over a comparatively recent single stair.
All of human history is represented by a single sheet of paper resting on the very top step of this calf-burning climb. Makes you think about the fleeting nature of life.
Other British and Irish Posts
Soaking Up Culture (Bath)
A Bit of British (Gibraltar)
The Illuminated Manuscript (Dublin, Ireland)
Half-Timbered Houses (Lavenham)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Photo of the Week - Jacob's Ladder (Cheddar, England)
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8 comments:
I remember going there one year and found some jew's ear fungus on the trees there. We had them for dinner that evening.
Well, I did go to Gouda when living in Holland. Perhaps, Cheddar should be next on my list =) Does "Switzerland" count for Swiss then?
@martin: I had to look up what "jew's ear fungus" was. You learn something every day...
camels & chocolates: Believe it or not, I went to Stilton in the UK and they can NOT make Stilton there!!
Nothing like the physical to bring an illusory concept home... Terrific use of concrete!
@footsteps: I still can't get over the comparison between 160 steps wirth of dinosaurs and a sheet of paper for humans. Made the walk up seem a little easier being absorbed by that.
Been there and climbed the steps. Cheddar is worth a visit, although the caves are more claustrophobic than many other I've been to.
I haven't been to Cheddar, England but I heard a lot of beautiful places that travelers can tour around. When you mention about cheese, it makes me want to visit the place now. I try to visit the place w/n the year I hope I could look for an affordable hotel like Cheap Hotels in Surfers Paradise for its very affordable and I have a great view from my room.
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