Mendip Ski Camp

This dog-friendly campsite at the foot of Somerset’s Mendip Hills offers holidays with the potential for adventure. Mendip Ski Camp is so-named for its proximity to an activity centre which offers ski-ing, snowboarding, and tobogganing on its dry ski slope, plus a whole host of other activities to get the adrenaline pumping. Then there’s the Mendips themselves; an area famed for Cheddar Gorge, for caves, for climbing and hiking. And let’s not forget the fun of camping. Mendip Ski Camp is somewhere to toast marshmallows on the campfire, watch the stars come out at night, and listen to birdsong as you wake up, ready for the next adventure.

It’s a simple site but all the basics are well covered and kept clean. There are flushing loos, hot water showers, a drinking-water tap and somewhere to wash up. There’s grey-water and chemical disposal as well – handy for the campervans, caravans, and motorhomes, which are welcome alongside tents. Everyone shares two tree-lined fields and you can choose where you pitch or park up. Campfires are allowed in off-ground fire pits and, if you don’t have your own, you can hire one. Logs are also for sale.

This campsite is easy to get to and easy to explore from, thanks to a location not far from an A-road which runs across the top of the Mendips towards the Somerset coast. It’s far enough that no road noise will reach your pitch but close enough to be handy. It provides a quick route to the beaches of Weston-Super-Mare and to the road that leads to Cheddar, its gorge and its caves, just five miles away. Closer than that, there’s another classic Somerset attraction: Thatchers Cider Farm, just a mile or so down the road. But nothing is closer than the activity centre that’s just a walk up the hill.