The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which administers most of the area.
The hills are largely formed from Carboniferous Limestone, which is quarried at several sites. The higher, western part of the hills has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park. The AONB is 198 km2 (76 sq mi). The Mendip Hills AONB and Somerset County Council's outdoor education centre is at the Charterhouse Centre near Blagdon.
A wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activities take place in the Mendips, many based on the particular geology of the area. The hills are recognised as a national centre for caving and cave diving, as well as being popular with climbers, hillwalkers and natural historians.
Read more about Mendip Hills: Toponymy, Geology, Climate, Ecology, History, Government and Politics, Demographics, Transport and Communications, Quarrying, Sport, Leisure, and Tourism, Mendips in The Arts
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