Owl Lodge

Owl Lodge sits a mile outside Wedmore on a quiet rural smallholding with views across the Somerset Levels that reach all the way to Glastonbury Tor. On a still morning, the weather rolls across the countryside in real time, and at sunrise, the Tor catches the light before anything else on the horizon. It is the kind of view you keep checking throughout the day because it never quite looks the same twice.

The lodge is a modern build with bi-fold doors across the back wall of the open-plan living area. When they are open, the kitchen, dining table, and sitting area all feel like an extension of the garden. The kitchen is properly fitted with an electric oven and hob, microwave, fridge, freezer, washer-dryer, and dishwasher, so a full week of self-catering is straightforward. Underfloor heating runs throughout, which keeps the place warm without radiators cluttering the walls. A Smart TV with Freeview and WiFi cover the quieter evenings.

Upstairs, the king-size bedroom has an en-suite shower room and sits directly under the roofline with enough headroom to feel spacious. Downstairs, a second king-size and a children's bunk bedroom share a fully fitted wet room, with a travel cot and highchair on hand for younger ones. The beds are firm and comfortable, the kind you actually sleep well in rather than just tolerate for a week.

At the bottom of the garden fence, Percy, Albert, and Jeffrey, the alpacas, graze throughout the day. Minnie and Dottie, two miniature horses, are usually somewhere nearby. Jeffrey, in particular, has a habit of wandering up to the fence while you are in the hot tub, eating grass a few feet away as if the whole arrangement were perfectly normal. Children will spend the first morning entirely at the fence, and frankly, so will most adults.

The hot tub sits on the patio with unbroken views over the Levels. Clear evenings out here are genuinely dark, with little light pollution, and the stars are sharp enough that you notice them without trying. Mornings are just as good, with a cup of tea on the patio furniture while the countryside wakes up around you.

Then there is the Sea Harrier. Jo and Neil, the owners, have a complete Sea Harrier jump jet on the property, a veteran of the 1982 Falklands conflict. You can sit in the cockpit. Not a replica or a museum piece behind glass, but the real thing, and one of those details that nobody quite believes until they see it. Neil knows the full history and will walk you through it if you are interested, and children talk about it for weeks.

Jo and Neil live on-site and check in early to make sure everything is right, then stay out of the way unless you need something. They are warm without being intrusive, and the kind of hosts who make the whole stay feel personal rather than transactional.

Wedmore village is about a mile away, with a good selection of pubs, a bakery, and independent shops. The Borough Mall has a small supermarket and a deli, and the George Inn serves solid food and local ciders. There is off-road parking for 2 cars, and you reach the lodge through the owners' quiet field, straight onto open countryside.

Cheddar Gorge is a short drive south, with its caves and clifftop walks. Glastonbury is close enough for an easy afternoon, with the Abbey, the Tor walk, and the high street worth a wander. Wells, the smallest city in England, is nearby for the cathedral and Wookey Hole. The nature reserves at Westhay and Shapwick Heath are excellent for birdwatching, and Clarks Village in Street covers the shopping side of things. Thatchers Cider in Sandford is worth a stop for the restaurant and shop, or for a more rustic experience, Wilkins Cider Farm is just down the road.