Hill Top Huts

Head out back at The Moorcock Inn in Teesdale and you’re guaranteed to see Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Pheasant and Snipe. We’re talking, of course, about the neat little glamping pods that have sprung up in the backyard – not the moorland birds they’re named after. We can’t quite guarantee sightings of those, though if you pull on your walking boots and head out into the surrounding fells there’s a pretty good chance that they’ll be springing up too.

There are 12 pods in all at Hill Top Huts, with the likes of Dales Pony, Highland and Beef Shorthorn completing the roll call. More than just a nod to the area’s animals, the names link this new glamping site with its owners, the Souters, who have farmed the area for more than 30 years. And best of all, the meat from their award-wining cattle (the Beef Shorthorn) is available on the mouthwatering menu at The Moorcock Inn. The food miles are low with just three miles separating pasture from pub (and pods) or ‘from gate to plate’, as the Souters like to say.

The pleasing green credentials aren’t the only thing that help you rest easy here. The pods have comfy fixed beds, a solid roof and an electricity supply while there’s a kettle, lights and plug sockets should you require them. It’s camping for glampers, and glamping for campers. Perfect for those who love the great outdoors but find little joy in the pitching of tents, inflating of air beds and the slow boiling of kettles on wobbly camp stoves. If you like the self-catering side of camp life, you can pick up some of that locally-reared meat to barbecue from the on-site shop but, of course, a hearty pub dinner is only ever a few steps away.

It’s easy to keep it local in other ways too. These well-named Hill Top Huts offer panoramic views and great walking with both the Teesdale and Pennine Ways not far from site. The pub and its pods sit within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and, one of the area’s must-see sights, High Force – England’s biggest waterfall – is just seven miles away. And, as it’s located on the road linking the riverside market towns of Middleton-in-Teesdale and Barnard Castle, it’s also a great base from which to discover both.