Bill, if you're going to be visiting Wookey Hole in the Mendip Hills it's worth knowing that you could do something along these lines (a) if you're rich enough and (b) if you move fast (although the journey distances amount to under 30 miles total for one day):
Arrive in Cheddar around 9:30am - drive up Cheddar Gorge (inland valley of insignificant proportions compared with, say, the Grand Canyon) and gasp at the wisdom of building a road underneath 400' cliffs before driving back down and parking in one of the central Gorge (not village) car parks for a fee (probably £2-£3); from here you can run the gamut of quaint English tourist honeypot shops which inhabit prehistoric cottages built by midgets before haemorraghing a sum equivalent to the GDP of Costa Rica to get you and your family into the Showcaves at Gough's Cave (one of the most superlative caves in the Universe) which contained a fair amount of archaeology when first discovered in the C19th; it makes Carlsbad Caverns seem stupendously magnificent. Gasp in bewilderment at the joys within. Return to daylight probably before 11:00am and run to your car before the Gypsies selling lucky heather grab hold of your wife and make haste towards the East, following the Southern flank of the verdant Mendip escarpment; the journey is about 8 miles and takes about 20 minutes and you will find signposts luring you to Wookey Hole Caves where, gosh - what a missed opportunity!, the car parking is free; disembarking before joining the sinister queue to disgorge the remaining contents of your wallet, you can freshen up in the actually rather fine and modern restroom; clutching your tickets you then follow the uphill ravine path past the sound of dinosaurs, king kong etc. which live in the valley below where they traumatise children, you locate the entrance to the cave proper and a guide will lead you into hell - the cave at Wookey is IMHO a superior experience. You will probably end your tour of the whole place by 1:30pm (the cave is only a small part of the tour which also takes in the papermill and some jolly fine English amusements along the way including the Valley of the Models and the Land that Wallets Forgot etc..).
http://www.cheddarsomerset.co.uk/
http://www.cheddarcaves.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Costa_Rica
http://www.cheddarvillage.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheddar_Gorge_and_Caves
http://www.cheddargorgecheeseco.co.uk/
http://www.uk-climbing.co.uk/crags/corry/index.htm
http://www.wookey.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wookey_Hole_Caves
Time then to do the 2 mile drive into the smallest city in England, Wells; the 1,000 year old (no joke) Cathedral is worth a look-see and then you can wander through the market square (to visit an ATM and refill your wallet) and see if you recognise it from the hit film "Hot Fuzz" (BTW you should watch Hot Fuzz as a family before visiting Wells since it gives you a precise idea of what life in England is like for those of us who inhabit this miniscule inbred isle). You may decide to have a traditional English Cream Tea (this is a pot of tea, some scones (tasteless round flat doughy lumps) which you spread alternate layers of strawberry jam and thick clotted cream upon after cutting them laterally in half - the jam and cream is effectively delivered to your mouth by the scone and does a good job at creating a semblance of flavour to the equation)).
http://members.tripod.com/wells_mendips/
http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/
http://www.hotfuzz.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machine
Your sticky fingers will aid your grip on the steering wheel as you drive like the wind across the Somerset Levels (Here Be Dragons/Hippies) to the Breast-shaped Isle of Avalon at Glastonbury; there is a field in the centre of this town which pretends to contain a magnificent Abbey, destroyed in the C16th, but there's nothing to see other than a derelict stone wall so save your time to gasp in awe at the rag-tag collection of shops in the high street (high streets are main streets which aren't high - except in the case of Glastonbury, of course, which is mostly high most of the time if you get my drift, man) which vend items of no-use-to-anyone-whatsoever; here you can purchase ying/yang dream catching crystal incense tarot aromatherapy wicca hair braids and uber vegan green lentil tea with sesame crumb and henbane balm crackers. There are a lot of crackers in Glastonbury.
http://www.isleofavalon.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_Levels
http://www.glastonburyabbey.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-glastonburytor/
http://www.hippy.com/review-149.html
If you are lucky enough to escape you may wish to take a detour, presuming it's now after 5:30pm, back towards Wells/Wookey but drive up on to the top of the Mendip Hills and locate the Deliverance-style hostilery of the Hunters Lodge; this mediaevel drinking house has its origins in Celtic tradition and has recently adopted the novelty of an electric light bulb in the adjoining outbuilding which contains a bench for the weary. The Hunters, as the locals who find talking tiresome call it, is world famous amongst cavers as the Centre of the Universe. However, now that you will have experienced the confines of the largest caves in Britain, you'll understand that UKers dwell in a particularly small universe indeed. Enjoy your visit and have a marvellously expensive day (as a rough guide expect to pay at least £10 per person per cave, plus parking in Cheddar, Wells and Glastonbury; a Cream Tea will cost you up to £5, most probably, but will suffice to keep two people on the edge of malnourishment for half an hour; an inadequate meal in the UK served by rude and ignorant staff will probably cost you about £7 per person if it's out of a microwave/deep fryer; it may even be edible - DO NOT TIP ANYONE in the UK unless it's to say things like "Smile, you might get promoted... actually you won't" or somesuch other trite jibe. So, as a ballpark, I'd reckon four people in one day in the UK, visiting a handful of touristy destinations plus buying food/refreshments etc., will cost around £150, this might also stretch to include a postcard (stamp not included).
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/18/1819/Hunters_Lodge/Priddy
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=4958
