Camping in Brendon Hills

The Brendon Hills offer some of the wildest, least crowded camping country in Somerset, with heather moorland, old iron-mining trackbeds and steep wooded coombes providing a real sense of remoteness within a fairly small area. As with everywhere else in England, wild camping on open land here is not legal without the express permission of the landowner, so pitching up on the moor itself is not an option; instead, the area is served by a scattering of proper campsites, several of which lean into the same quiet, back-to-nature appeal that draws walkers to the hills in the first place.

Wimbleball Lake, on the southern edge of the hills within Exmoor National Park, has a campsite run by South West Lakes Trust alongside its watersports centre, making it an easy base for combining camping with sailing, canoeing or fishing on the reservoir. Ralegh's Cross Inn, at a high crossroads on the moor itself, offers an adults-only campsite attached to the pub, useful for walkers wanting to start the day already up on the tops. Further sites can be found around Watchet and Wiveliscombe at the foot of the hills, generally offering easier access, better shelter from the weather, and proximity to shops and pubs for those who prefer not to be entirely self-sufficient.

Glamping has a foothold too, with a number of farms across the wider area converting fields or barns into shepherd's huts, safari tents and static units, giving a comfortable middle ground between a hotel stay and a tent for those keen to experience the moor without the full camping kit. Spring through early autumn is the most reliable season to camp here, when the ground is drier and the days long enough to make the most of the hills' big skies; the exposed high ground can be genuinely cold and wet outside these months, so it is worth choosing a sheltered, lower-lying site if visiting off season.