Forest bathing at Ebbor Gorge

Ebbor Gorge is a steep-sided ravine cut into the limestone of the Mendip Hills, just above Wookey Hole and about two miles from Wells. It is a National Nature Reserve managed by Natural England, much of it given to the National Trust in 1967 in memory of Winston Churchill. The woods are mostly ash and maple, with older pockets of wych elm, oak, hazel, hornbeam and beech, and the damp valley floor is rich in ferns, mosses and fungi. In spring there are bluebells and wood anemones.

From the car park on Deer Leap, three marked trails go down into the gorge; the shortest is suitable for wheelchair users, and the longest is about 3km. The full walk has stony paths and a long flight of steps through the woodland, so wear good shoes, and keep to the waymarked paths because the gorge sides are dangerous. The top of the gorge looks across the Somerset Levels to Glastonbury Tor.