Wydale Farm Tipis are pitched in an enviable location on the edge of the Mendip Hills, midway between Cheddar and the Somerset seaside. But, be warned, if you stay here you may not explore any of it. I past guests are anything to go by, you may not want to leave this idyllic riverside spot at all. Go out too early and you might miss the chance to spot deer in the surrounding fields, stay out too long and you might miss the sun going down over the hills. And in the middle of the day? Well—that’s the perfect time to take a kayak out on the river.
Even if you spend all of your days right here on Wydale Farm, you won’t be missing out on the beauty of the Mendips or the Somerset Levels. The farm sits on the flat with the foothills of the Western Mendips in an arc giving a 360-degree panorama with Crook Peak foremost in your view. If you can muster the get-up-and-go for a walk, this is the local spot to head for. Ask hosts Sam and Matt for their recommendations on which route to take. It’ll be this lovely couple who welcome you to site when you arrive and walk you the 200 yards from car park to tipi. Anticipation builds step-by-step until you reach the deck and the whole vista is revealed. But it’s not just the surroundings that make this place special; the accommodation itself is also rather nice.
The tipis are a modern take on the classic and are kitted out as swish bedrooms for your stay with no expense spared on beds, mattresses, and bedding. They offer double aspect doors and, at the back, each tipi has a little outbuilding, which offers both a private camp kitchen and a private shower and loo. It’s as comfortable a glamping set-up as you could wish for while out the front is the scenic bit. You have comfortable Adirondack chairs, a lantern-like fire pit and barbecue, and your own outlook on the river—all the way to those Mendip Hills.