Exmoor’s Somerset side splits into two kinds of holiday. Along the coast, Dunster and Porlock put you between the moor and the Bristol Channel, with Minehead’s shops a short drive away. Inland, Dulverton, Withypool, Exford and Wheddon Cross sit up on the moor or down in its river valleys, where the walking starts at the door and the nearest supermarket does not. We list 73 stays across these six villages, and 60 of them take dogs. Pick the village that fits your days, then check the hill, the parking and the dog limit before you compare dates.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Old Police Station | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| High House | 10 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Worthy Barn | 8 | 4 | 1 | Yes, spaces not stated |
| The Old Thatch | 2 | 1 | 2 | Yes, spaces not stated |
| Barleside | 6 | 3 | 1 | Check with provider |
| Barn Cottage | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Exemead House | 12 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Bailiffs Cottage | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
The six villages at a glance
| Village | Stays we list | Take dogs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunster | 18 | 11 | A castle village with a heritage railway stop |
| Porlock | 14 | 12 | Moor and sea from one base |
| Dulverton | 17 | 14 | A small town with shops in the Barle valley |
| Withypool | 11 | 11 | Walking to Tarr Steps |
| Exford | 6 | 5 | Large groups at the centre of the moor |
| Wheddon Cross | 7 | 7 | Quiet cottages near Dunkery Beacon |
Every one of these villages is inside Exmoor National Park, which in 2011 became Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve. On a clear night, the inland villages are where that matters most.
Dunster: the castle village
Dunster grew up around Dunster Castle, which the Luttrell family owned for around 600 years before the National Trust took it on in 1976. The village is small, with 863 people at the 2021 census, but it fits a 17th century Yarn Market, a working watermill that still grinds flour and the Grade I listed Priory Church of St George into a few streets. Dunster Beach is a pebble shore half a mile away, backed by chalets and wartime pillboxes rather than sand.
Many of the cottages are old buildings, and the listings say what that means. 3 Old Police Station is a Grade II listed former police station for six, with off-road parking for three cars. Little Dragons, a mid-terrace cottage for four, warns that its stairs to the bedrooms are steep, and Bodkin Cottage takes no children under five for the same reason. Fairview - Dunster is a medieval hall house dated to 1371 that sleeps eight, with bike storage in the original stable.
For a bigger group, High House sleeps ten in five bedrooms and has a hot tub in a corner of the lawn and a garden gate straight onto Dunster Deer Park. Some stays filed under Dunster are in neighbouring Carhampton or Timberscombe, so check the address on the listing if you want to walk to the castle.
Arriving by steam train is possible on the West Somerset Railway, but Dunster station is about a mile from the village. Services do not run every day, so check the railway’s own timetable first.
Porlock and Porlock Weir: moor and sea together
Porlock is a village of about 1,440 people, 5 miles west of Minehead, where the moor rises steeply behind the coast. Porlock Hill has a gradient of 1 in 4, and a toll road bypasses it. If you tow a caravan or drive a large vehicle, plan that route before you book, not on arrival. We list 14 stays here, and 12 take dogs.
Most are cottages in or near the village street. Stag Cottage and The Pound are both 0.1 miles from the shop and pub, and The Old Thatch is a thatched cottage for two with an enclosed roof terrace. Parking varies: Small Piece has roadside parking for two medium cars, while Woodedge uses a shared layby outside. Aluric’s Hall, a listed hall house, is for four adults only, with no children or pets.
Porlock Weir, about 1.5 miles west, is a working harbour with a pebble beach. Its tidal range is often up to 15 metres and both harbours dry at low tide. The 2-mile walk to Culbone starts here. Worthy Barn sits at Porlock Weir and sleeps eight adults, with a roof terrace and an EV charger. At the other end of the bay, Bossington Beach is a shingle ridge on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, reached on foot from the Trust car park.
A few Porlock listings are in Allerford, the next hamlet east. River View is a first-floor flat reached by steps, with a balcony facing the Pack Horse Bridge.
Dulverton: a town in the Barle valley
Dulverton is the place to stay if you want shops and pubs on foot as well as the moor. It is a small town of about 1,400 people in the wooded valley of the River Barle, and Exmoor House in the town is the National Park Authority’s headquarters. We list 17 stays here, and 14 take dogs.
Barleside has riverside seating on the Barle and two ground-floor bedrooms, and Proffitts Cottage puts the shop, pub and river 0.1 miles away, though it has no garden. The Hayloft - Dulverton has the Exe Valley Way running past the front door, so the first walk needs no car.
Some Dulverton stays are well outside the town. The Cowshed - Draydon Cottages is a single-storey conversion 1,000 feet above sea level that takes up to four dogs. The Mount, a Victorian house for ten with a games room, is reached by a steep drive at the end of a lane. The Lazy Sheep Barn also sleeps ten, with five en-suite bedrooms, a private hot tub and 60 acres with a lake.
Withypool and Tarr Steps
Withypool is a village near the centre of Exmoor, close to the Devon border, with a parish population of around 200. All 11 stays we list here take dogs, and several allow three. Fox Cottage At Bigmoor and Stag Cottage At Bigmoor both take up to three dogs and have Starlink internet, worth knowing if you need to work while you are away.
Tarr Steps is about 2.5 miles south-east of the village: a 17-span clapper bridge over the Barle, Grade I listed and a scheduled monument. Barn Cottage is about 300 yards from it. The clapper bridge was damaged in the storms of 24 to 25 October 2026 and should not be crossed until it is repaired, though the car park and Tarr Farm Inn stay open. The short circular walk from the bridge cannot be completed either, because the upstream footbridge at Hinds Pitt has been closed since May 2025. Flood water has displaced the stones before, so check the National Park Authority’s page before you go.
For a couple, The Secret Garden - Withypool is a shepherd’s hut with a wood burner, and Foxlair Cottage has everything on one floor. The Old Chapel - Withypool is under 100 metres from the pub, tea room and shop, but its one parking space is 100 metres away.
Exford: big houses at the centre of the moor
Exford is a village of about 400 people on the River Exe, 7 miles north-west of Dulverton and 10 miles south-west of Minehead. The B3224 runs through it, the main road across Exmoor. We list only six stays here, but they include the largest houses in these six villages.
Monkham House sleeps 16 in seven bedrooms and takes four dogs. Exemead House sleeps 12, with lawns running down to the river and parking for up to 10 cars. The Old Stables at Court Farm sleeps eight but strictly allows one dog. For smaller parties, Hoglets is a converted barn with a three-acre paddock, though it takes seven-night bookings only from April to September. For more houses that sleep a crowd, see our large holiday homes in Somerset.
Wheddon Cross and Dunkery Beacon
Wheddon Cross is one of the higher hamlets in the National Park, on the ridge between Exmoor and the Brendon Hills, 9 miles south of Minehead. The six stays here are all cottages and all take dogs. Dunkery Beacon, at 519 metres the highest point in Somerset, is the nearby climb, with a loop of about 2.4 miles from the car park at the bottom of the hill.
Exmoor Farm Cottages - Stags View and its neighbour Swallows Nest take no children under 16, and both have a kennel and run for dogs.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and anything you depend on with the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
On Exmoor, ask about the road and the parking first. In Dunster and Porlock, find out whether the stay has its own space or uses a car park or roadside. For remote farms, ask how the lane is in winter and whether there is phone signal. If you bring a dog, check the limit and any fee, and whether dogs are allowed upstairs, since many stays here say no. Our dog-friendly cottages in Somerset and cottages with hot tubs pages filter the whole county, and Minehead is the town for a bigger shop. Lodges are a separate search: our lodges in Somerset include a group at Williton, on the western side of the county.
