The Mendip Hills are a limestone ridge about 19 miles long, with Cheddar Gorge cut into the southern edge and two reservoirs, Blagdon Lake and Chew Valley Lake, below the northern side. There is no beach here, so this is a stay for caves, walking, cathedral visits and birdwatching. Cheddar itself has only a handful of holiday homes, and most of the choice is spread around it: in Wells, in the villages near Wookey Hole, on the western hills at Shipham and on farms above the lakes. We list 72 stays across these six areas, and 34 take dogs.
Compare the eight featured stays
These eight stays give a spread of sizes and locations across the areas below. Compare group size, dog limits and parking first, then read each property’s restrictions before checking dates with its booking provider. A missing parking count means it has not been confirmed, rather than that no parking is available.
| Stay | Sleeps | Bedrooms | Dogs allowed | Parking spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peartree Cottage | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Spire View | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Westbank - Wookey Hole | 4 | 2 | 2 | Check with provider |
| Stable Cottage | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Suffolk, Southcroft Farm | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nempnett Farmhouse | 12 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Lakeside Chew Valley | 4 | 2 | 1 | Check with provider |
| Dale Barton | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
The areas at a glance
| Area | Stays we list | Take dogs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheddar | 5 | 2 | Walking to the gorge from the door |
| Wells | 14 | 10 | A small city with the cathedral on foot |
| Wookey | 12 | 5 | Quiet villages close to Wells and the caves |
| Shipham | 10 | 5 | Hot tubs and the western hills |
| Blagdon | 13 | 5 | Lake views and large group houses |
| Bishop Sutton | 18 | 7 | Chew Valley Lake and farm barns |
The western end of the Mendips has been protected since 1972, and since November 2023 it has been called the Mendip Hills National Landscape. The Mendip Way footpath crosses the range for about 50 miles from Uphill to Frome.
Cheddar: at the foot of the gorge
Cheddar is a village of about 6,300 people on the southern edge of the hills, about 9 miles north-west of Wells. Cheddar Gorge and Caves is the reason to stay, and the operator advises arriving before 11am in school holidays and on bank holidays, which is easy when your cottage is in the village. Gough’s Cave, where Cheddar Man was found in 1903, takes up to about 45 minutes. Jacob’s Ladder is 274 steps to a viewpoint, with 48 more to the Lookout Tower.
Dogs on leads are allowed in all of the gorge attractions and on the National Trust cliff paths. Only two of our five Cheddar stays take one: Peartree Cottage, with an inglenook wood burner and shops 200 yards away, and Lamora, a bungalow with everything on the ground floor and two pets allowed. Cathay House sleeps five with off-road parking for three cars. Quarry Cottage sleeps six in three double bedrooms but takes no pets.
Wells: the cathedral city
Wells is a city of about 11,000 people, and its main sights sit close together. Wells Cathedral, begun about 1175, welcomes dogs on leads inside and hands out free dog biscuits in its cafe. Next door, the Bishop’s Palace has a moat with swans that ring a bell for food and 14 acres of gardens, though it has no general parking.
Staying in the centre means checking the parking. Hart Cottage, a Grade II listed cottage for two, has on-street and public car park parking only, and Vespers, a terraced cottage with cathedral views, has roadside parking with a permit. The Wesley Apartment has two allocated spaces and views to the cathedral and the Mendips, but it is on the fourth floor with stairs only. Goldings is a bungalow with everything on one floor and parking for three cars, though it takes week-long stays starting on a Friday only.
Several Wells listings are out on the hills. Dale Barton is a farm barn at Priddy that sleeps eight, and Rookery Farmhouse sleeps ten with a private outdoor pool heated from May to the end of September. Little Leaf Hideaway is a shepherd’s hut with a wood-fired hot tub facing Glastonbury Tor.
Wookey and Wookey Hole
Wookey is a village on the River Axe, 2 miles west of Wells, and it is not the same place as Wookey Hole, the separate village by the caves. Check which one a listing means. Wookey Hole caves take about 40 minutes on a tour through eight chambers, with around 200 steps along the route. Pet dogs are not allowed there, so a dog owner needs a plan for that morning.
Westbank - Wookey Hole and Northbank - Wookey Hole are cottages in Wookey Hole itself, both taking two dogs, though Northbank’s parking is a community space 50 metres down the road. For groups without a dog, Double House Farm sleeps 12 over three floors, and Fenny Castle Cottage is two cottages for eight with a shared tennis court.
Some stays here set age rules. Lime Tree Cottage is on an adults-only site with a cafe bar, Millstone Barn on a sheep farm takes no children, and The Old Cider Barn takes no children aged 1 to 9.
Shipham and the western hills
Shipham stands on the western edge of the Mendips near the A38, with views over Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel. The 36-mile Limestone Link Path starts here, and Black Down, the highest point of the Mendips at 325 metres, is in the same hills. Four of the ten stays filed under Shipham have a hot tub, more than any other area in this guide.
Most of them are for couples. Beulah, Southcroft Farm and Suffolk, Southcroft Farm are glamping pods with private hot tubs, each taking one dog. The Parlour has a four-poster bed and a hot tub in its courtyard, and The Stables - Churchill Park Farm at Langford is a single-storey stable conversion with one too. For a family, Strawberry Stables sleeps six on one floor but takes no pets. For more options across the county, see our cottages with hot tubs in Somerset and glamping in Somerset.
Blagdon and the lakes
Blagdon looks over Blagdon Lake, a 440-acre reservoir on the northern edge of the Mendips that opened as a trout fishery in 1904. The village is 12 miles south-west of Bristol, and several stays filed under it are in the farm hamlets around, such as Nempnett Thrubwell and Butcombe.
This is the area for a big group. Butcombe Farm House sleeps 24, with two hot tubs under cover, a heated open-air pool from May to September and parking for up to nine cars. Nempnett Farmhouse sleeps 12 with a hot tub and a games room. For two, Somerset Cottage is a 17th-century cottage with an inglenook wood burner and a pub within 65 metres, and Lime Kiln is a farm pod with a log-fired hot tub, though it has USB power points instead of standard sockets. Our large holiday homes in Somerset page lists more houses for a crowd.
Bishop Sutton and Chew Valley Lake
Bishop Sutton is a Chew Valley village on the A368, about 10 miles south of Bristol, east of Chew Valley Lake. The lake is a Bristol Water reservoir where more than 270 bird species have been recorded. Swimming is not allowed, but the Grebe trail, about 0.75 miles on a hard, level surface, suits pushchairs and wheelchairs.
We list 18 stays here, the most of these six areas. Little Herriotts is single-storey and 0.1 miles from the lake. Ninky Nonk, Noflash Malpal and Number 7 each have a private hot tub, an EV charger and two dogs allowed. For children, Chew Valley Farm and Chew Valley Rise sit at a family-run zoo with a restaurant on site, but neither takes dogs. The three Twinway Farm barns, including Twinway Farm - The Wagon House for two adults, are on a working farm with no dogs either.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and anything you rely on with the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
In the Mendips, the questions are about access and dogs. Count the steps if anyone in your party finds stairs hard, since Jacob’s Ladder, Wookey Hole’s cave route and the cathedral’s 31-step chapter house are all part of a typical week. Plan around Wookey Hole’s no-dogs rule, and check the dog limit and fee before you book. In Wells, ask whether parking is your own, on the street or in a car park. Our dog-friendly cottages in Somerset page filters every stay that takes a dog.
