Portal:Somerset

The Sweet Track is an ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels. It was built in 3807 or 3806 BC and has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. It was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000 year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. It is now known that the Sweet Track was largely built over the course of an earlier structure, the Post Track.

The track extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, although much of the marsh has now been drained, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The track is one of a network that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Various artefacts, including a jadeitite axe head, have been found along its length.

Construction was of crossed wooden poles which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that consisted mainly of planks of oak, laid end-to-end. The track was only used for a period of around 10 years and then abandoned, probably due to rising water levels. Following its discovery in 1970 most of the track has been left in its original location, with active conservation measures taken, including a water pumping and distribution system to maintain the wood in its damp condition. Some of the track is stored at the British Museum and a reconstruction of a section was built at the Peat Moors Centre near Glastonbury. (Full article...)

Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom Black Books and for his regular appearances on the panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI, as well as for his stand-up comedy work. He plays a variety of musical instruments and incorporates music into his performances.

Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007, and again in 2010, he was voted the seventh greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. In 2020 Bailey won the 18th series of the televised BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing with his professional partner Oti Mabuse. At 55, he is currently the oldest winner in the show's history as of 2024. (Full article...)

1. Somerset (Unitary)
2. North Somerset (Unitary)
3. Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)

Cheddar
Co-ordinates 51°16′43″N 2°46′40″W / 51.2785°N 2.7777°W / 51.2785; -2.7777

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The village, which has its own parish council, has a population of 5,093 and the parish has an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.

Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves including Gough's Cave. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic times, including a Saxon palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has been a centre for strawberry growing, with the crop being transported on the Cheddar Valley line. It is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.

The village supports a variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of The Kings of Wessex School, which is the largest educational establishment. (Full article...)

From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:

• ... that Beckington Castle (pictured), built in the early 17th century, was not called a castle until 1839?
• ... that the Roman settlement at Gatcombe, in the modern English county of Somerset, may be the site of Iscalis described by Ptolemy?
• ... that some criminals were seen on television riding around Weston-super-Mare on an open-top bus?
• ... that Richmont Castle once overlooked the Chew Valley?
• ...that in 1737 cooper Charles Milsom discovered a spring in Lyncombe, Bath while fixing a fishpond, and styled himself as a doctor to market the spring water for its health-giving properties?

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Main project: WikiProject Somerset Parent projects: WikiProject UK geography, WikiProject England

Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire