The Cheddar Gorge, a haven for climbers and walkers. Photo:Ted Symonds CC-BY-SA-2.0

The National Trust is dipping a boot in the world of outdoors retailing with the opening of its first ‘tea-towel-free’ shop.

In an acknowledgement of its roots, the charity, the full name of which is National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is offering walkers and climbers a range of gear at its Cheddar Gorge shop.

The trust was formed originally in 1895 by philanthropists Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley who were concerned about the impact of uncontrolled development and industrialisation.  The trio founded the trust to act as a guardian for the nation in acquiring and protecting of threatened coastline, countryside and buildings.

It is probably best known as the custodian of stately homes and other buildings, but owns or cares for more than 248,000ha (612,000 acres) of countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including 1,120km (700 miles) of coastline.

Now, its first gear shop, featuring Gore-tex and Vibram rather than wooden ducks and tea-towels, has opened in the Somerset gorge renowned for its climbing routes and spectacular walks.

Andy Mayled, National Trust general manager for the Somerset countryside, said: ‘We won’t be selling the tea towels and lavender bags that you’d normally expect to find in a trust shop.

“Our work in Cheddar Gorge is all about giving people access to the open countryside and this shop will sell the things needed to help people get out into the great outdoors.

“The new centre will help us to tell the story of the National Trust’s work in Cheddar Gorge, of which we own half, and the wider Somerset countryside sites that we manage from Exmoor to Glastonbury Tor.”

Mark Harold, the organisation’s champion for the outdoors, said: “Our founders recognised the need for everyone to find space to relax and recharge their batteries. We want to inspire everyone to play outside, to enjoy the beauty and fun our places offer for natural refreshment, essential to everyone’s quality of life.

“Centres like this one at Cheddar should be the first stop for people looking for great ideas to explore their countryside.”

The shop also has display panels and interactive wall displays to highlight places to be explored in the area.

Commercial Manager Rowena Nokes said: “The information panels show people where and how they can get out and about to enjoy the countryside, whether cycling, camping, climbing or simply going for a walk.

“It is a new centre so we want to hear from our first visitors what they think about it, how they want to use Cheddar Gorge and what help we can give for them to make it possible.

“We want to change people’s perception of the National Trust; we are not just about country houses, we look after coast and countryside as well and we really want to encourage people to get out into it.”

The trust has more than 3½ million members. The National Trust for Scotland fulfils a similar role north of the border.