Dreamhunters - The Adventures Of Early Man

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend, following many months of hard work and preparation, the first new attraction at Cheddar Gorge & Caves in almost a quarter of a century will officially open its doors to the paying public.

With one foot planted firmly in the past, Dreamhunters - The Adventures Of Early Man has also taken a bold step into the future with the help of some state-of-the-art projectors, sound systems and lighting, to create a spectacular multi-media walk-through experience for its 21^st century visitors.

Based deep within the magical and mysterious chambers of Cox’s Cave, it makes full use of a dramatic natural setting to tell the story of how our ancestors overcame ancient fears, and fierce predators, and made the tools and weapons needed to build shelters and hunt in order to protect the tribe.

Fast-forward to the present-day, and it took London-based LCI Productions 30 days to design, 70 days to produce…and then 57 days to install the 2 kilometres of fibre-optic cables, 2 kilometres of audio cable, 1.5 kilometres of DMX cable, 1.2 kilometres of mains cable, 55 LED lights and 8 underwater LEDs - along with 16 video projectors and one laser - to turn the dream into Dreamhunters.

Based within the eight natural chambers of Cox’s Cave, the 100 metres route now tells the story of The adventures of early man in eight separate phases: an introduction; discovering flint & fire; learning to defend the group from predators such as wolves; exploring their dreams and aspirations; developing their culture and arts; protecting their home from cave bears; acquiring advanced hunting techniques by using horses; and (in a grand finale, in the final chamber) Man’s triumph and mastery of his world.

The full experience will last approximately 30 minutes, taking the visitor on a journey through pre-history.

Access to Dreamhunters - The Adventures Of Early Man will be included in the general admission price of a visit to Cheddar Gorge and Caves (which includes Cox’s Cave, Gough’s Cave, the Museum of Prehistory, the Lookout Tower, Cliff-top Gorge Walk and Gorge Open-top bus).

2016 entry prices for Cheddar Gorge and Caves are: Adults £19.95 (online £16.95); Children (5-15) £13.95 (online £11.85); Under 5s Free.  For further details, visit http://www.cheddargorge.co.uk.

To see how the new attraction was installed in Cox’s Cave, visit https://youtu.be/fRghAem5EOg.

The new experience at Cox’s Cave is part of a £400,000 investment plan at Cheddar Gorge and Caves for 2016, which will also see the introduction of new branding, and some new interpretation.  Buildings and shop-fronts in the Gorge are also to be repainted, as the first step in a new phase of reinvestment in the attraction.