Camping in West Buckland

West Buckland sits on the northern edge of the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and while the parish itself has no campsite of its own, the wider AONB and the country around Wellington and Taunton offer a fair choice of small, quiet sites suited to a rural Somerset break. As with the rest of England, wild camping without the landowner's explicit permission remains illegal here, so pitching up on the open hillside or in a farmer's field without asking first is not an option, however tempting the views back over the Vale of Taunton Deane might look.

The terrain rising south from the village onto the Blackdown ridge is a mix of steep lanes, hedged fields and working farmland, so sites tend to be small, family-run affairs on farms rather than large commercial holiday parks, several of them within a few miles of West Buckland around Wellington. These typically offer grass pitches for tents and touring vans, with limited facilities compared to bigger parks, which suits those after a peaceful stay over a resort-style experience. Booking ahead is sensible in peak season, since pitch numbers are often modest.

Spring through early autumn is the best window for camping here: the Blackdown lanes and hedgerows are at their greenest from May onward, and long summer evenings make the most of the views over the Vale of Taunton Deane and towards the Wellington Monument. Ground can be wet underfoot for much of the winter given Somerset's clay soils, so cooler months suit only well-equipped campers. For those who would rather skip the tent altogether, a small but growing number of glamping options across the Blackdown Hills, including shepherd's huts and safari tents on farm sites, offer a more comfortable way to enjoy the same countryside without sacrificing the quiet, rural setting that draws people to this corner of Somerset.