We are celebrating a brief interruption of the drought and the return of the rains in true British fashion by going camping in it, but I thought Mastodon might appreciate how someone else traveled to the campsite
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@afewbugs I was planning to go camping and hillwalking on Skye. Without a car. The forecast of heavy rain and wind for the whole time I was planning to be there forever me to re-evaluate my life choices...
@afewbugs you've inspired me. I'm now off to Cheddar Gorge for the afternoon 🙂
I already knew I liked this campsite a lot, but this sign directing people to the washing up area has just cemented it
I'm back now and trying to raise my blood caffeine levels to the minimum necessary for work to occur, so it's time for What I Did On My Holidays By Jules Age 44 And 7/12ths. We went to #CheddarGorge and stayed at Petruth Paddocks on the #StrawberryLine, a lovely campsite that seems to have actually been built by people who go camping. There are phone charging lockers! Ample hooks on the shower wall to hang up both your muddy clothes and your clean ones and a baffle to stop both from getting soaked by the shower! Washing machines! A shop that sells batteries and stove gas cannisters! Highly recommended https://www.petruthpaddocks.co.uk/
#ChaddarGorge is a very craggy and beautiful limestone gorge that was formed during the ice age 1.2 million years ago and now contains several dramatic caves open to tourists and a museum of prehistory, as well as assorted cafes, gift shops selling plush prehistoric fauna, ice cream concessions, crazy golf courses and a shop selling Christmas decorations all year round for no apparent reason.
@afewbugs There's an excellent cider and cheese shop in Cheddar, just at the bottom of the gorge. I could spend a lot of money in there.
@afewbugs The cheese shop is nice though. And so is the cave-aged cheese.
The first cave we visited was Gough's Cave, which was first opened as a tourist concession in Victorian times by Richard Gough, the son in law and eventual competitor with the owner of Cox's cave further down the valley. He was only able to do so once the old woman who lived in the front of the cave died as she refused to sell it to him, as she made a good living there selling bottles of health giving mineral water from springs in the cave or, in dry years, from a nearby stream. Learning that "obstructive cave crone scamming the gullible" can be a viable career path has led me to reevaluate many of my major life decisions.
Almost immediately on the left as you enter #GoughsCave is the site where #CheddarMan was discovered, not a cheese-powered superhero but the earliest known complete human skeleton found to date in the British Isles. He died around 10,000 years ago, possibly in situ or was possibly buried here. Many other bone fragments and stone tools have also been discovered in the cave.
This is not the original skeleton, which is preserved in London's natural history museum, but a replica which one of the guides told us was called Bob by the staff as when the cave floods his skull sometimes comes off and bobs about.
The guide incidentally was called Dan, was absolutely lovely, and really wants Cheddar Gorge to start running DnD games in the cave but the management isn't going for it. I think that would be an amazing idea and every nerd I know would be beating a path to their, uh, cavemouth. I'd be surprised if anyone following me is part of Longleat Management, but I've seen weirder things happen on here so if you are please make this happen
Cheddar Man's remains were well enough preserved for his DNA to be sequenced, which very pleasingly upset the section of the population who use "woke" as an insult when it revealed that one of the earliest studiable inhabitants of the UK had dark skin.
(The waxwork model of him being buried in the museum of prehistory was made before this was known by the way, so it has pale skin and bears an unsettling resemblance to Matt Berry)
My understanding, (which is not expert, so shouldn't be relied on without checking) is that pale skin is a really quite recent adaptation/mutation, and that for it to come about two things had to happen.
One was living in northerly areas without strong sun, the other was being reliant on agriculture and starchy foods which was a poorer quality diet with less vitamin D in it than the preceding hunter gatherers had.
So mesolithic europeans were brown skinned, and middle eastern farmers were brown skinned, but then the farmers, or at least farming, moved north-west and when the farmer diet and the lack of sun are combined then pale skin became an advantage for vitD synthesis.
@afewbugs A wild trandem appears?
@afewbugs yes but rain on tent sounds which are wonderful.
@afewbugs I do appreciate it. Hope you have a good time camping!
@afewbugs I do like a tandem. Enjoy the camping.
![Frans Super 🇺🇦🇵🇸🍋[FCKPVV]](https://media.mstdn.social/accounts/avatars/109/262/368/122/349/251/original/2fabef487ac5ca1d.jpg "Frans Super 🇺🇦🇵🇸🍋[FCKPVV]")
@afewbugs Looks like the tent is on the rear bike rack. Very appropriate! 😅
@afewbugs
From the thumbnail image I thought that was a covered cat carrier on the back of that tandem!
@Maker_of_Things I mean I have no evidence that the people in that tent _aren't_ furries
