The gorge cuts through the Mendip Hills, a plateau of carboniferous limestone that was formed by ancient shallow seas, and the walls on either side of the road through the gorge rise to heights of more than 130 meters.

The rock is grey-white and sculpted by water — limestone is soluble, and the slightly acidic rain that falls over the Mendips has been dissolving and reshaping it for millions of years.

Inside the limestone, water creates caves.

The cave system that includes Gough’s Cave has been forming for somewhere between two and four million years, shaped by underground rivers that once flowed through the rock and have since largely dried up or diverted.

The chambers that remain are formations of extraordinary beauty: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, stalagmites rising from the floor, curtains of flowstone draped across the walls.