Somerset Yurts Review: The Freedom To Explore

Nestled on a working Dairy Farm in the beautiful Quantock Hills, Somerset Yurts offers its guests the chance to unwind, relax and truly get back to nature.

Children are free to explore the fields and climb the hay bales whilst mum and dad sit back and relax on the deck of their beautiful, authentic, traditional Mongolian yurt (or Gers as they’re called in Mongolia!).

Owned by Emma and Mark, Somerset Yurts offers families, couples, groups and individuals a break from the hustle and bustle of every day life. Check out the short video below of our time at Somerset Yurts.

Emma and Mark both quit corporate jobs in 2010 to move back to Somerset to take over a tenanted family farm run by Mark’s father. The farm was originally owned by the Crown with Mark being the third generation tenant to take over the farm. Emma and Mark made the big decision to buy the farm and work it themselves. Of course this also means that their children could continue running the farm should they wish to when they’re older.

This family run farm is set across three fields of about three acres and has two Safari Tents, a Geodesic Dome and the original yurt site which contains four yurts. The Safari Tents can sleep up to six people and come with a well equipped kitchen, with fridge, ceramic hob, kettle and toaster etc. There’s also your own private bathroom with hot shower and proper flushing loo.

With far reaching views over Taunton Vale to the Blackdown Hills in the distance, Somerset Yurts really does feel like a long way away from our hometown of Cardiff.

As mentioned at the start of this review Somerset Yurts is located on a dairy farm called Hill Farm. There’s around 100 milking cows in the herd, producing 2,000 litres of milk a day! Their milk goes to a local cheese maker, Lubborn Dairy. Hill Farm compromises of approximately 300 acres of grassland and forage crops for the herd.

We arrived around 5pm on Friday and headed over to the kitchen in the barn to find our welcome letter detailing how to find our yurt. We were in the Furzeclose yurt which has a bright orange door.

The orange theme continued inside and it was lovely to see a doormat and rugs on the floor to really make our yurt feel like home.

The yurts are made up of 5 lattice wall sections tied together with horsehair. 81 roof poles hold up the crown wheel and push the walls out providing rigidity in the structure. There’s an inner cotton liner, a layer of felt, a layer of heavy-duty waterproof canvas, a canvas sun cover, and finally the crown cover. Around all of these layers are 3 ropes that pull the layers tight, and also add rigidity to the yurt. It’s quite amazing when you think about it and from inside it’s a beautiful sight to see.

Inside our yurt there’s a double bed, fold out bed and wood burning stove. There was also a cool box which I thought was a nice added touch.

I really liked that the crown (roof wheel) lets in natural light and I loved having the door open in the late evening and early morning. Being able to lay in bed and look at the view was very calming and pleasant.

Outside the yurt on the decking area is a bench and then on the grass alongside the yurt is a picnic table with a barbecue. Somerset Yurts also provide Prakti stoves should you wish to cook on these instead or in addition to the barbecue. There’s an honesty box in the barn where you can leave money for any wood or charcoal that you need.

The best thing about the yurts is their surroundings. Our seven year old twins really enjoyed having the freedom to run around the field, explore the willow trees and watch the cows wander over to the fields to graze.

As soon as we arrived our girls had their football and goal posts out, as well as their bat and ball. It reminded me a lot of my own childhood where we’d spend many summers camping with nothing but our imaginations for entertainment. Those really were the days!

On the second day of our stay our girls set up an obstacle course in the field. It was so good to see them embracing the great outdoors and the rain didn’t put them off one bit. They simply put their hoods up and carried on!

If the weather does get particularly bad there’s a kitchen in the barn which has an oven, hob, microwave, toaster, kettle, utensils and cooking equipment. There’s also a fridge with freezer and a big table you could eat at if the weather turned. There was also a selection of games, children’s toys and books. Inside the barn you’ll also find hot water showers and toilet cubicles.

There are plenty of things to do and see nearby. We visited Fyne Court, a National Trust nature reserve. Fyne Court offers its visitors three fantastic walks with plenty of trees for the children to climb!

The yurts are also right on the circular Heritage Trail that loops around the village of West Monkton. There’s also Cothelstone Hill which is approximately a 15 minute drive from the yurts and has wonderful views. Plus you may spot some wild Exmoor ponies at the stop!

You could also visit Hestercombe Gardens which is a unique collection of three gardens spanning three centuries of garden history and design or perhaps a day out at West Somerset Railway is more your thing. You can enjoy a steam or diesel train ride through 22 miles of sunning Somerset Coast and Countryside.

After a day of exploring it was nice to return to our yurt and relax. In the evenings we’d cook on the barbecue and the girls would toast marshmallows.

We were also fortunate enough to watch Mark fed the cows which our girls enjoyed. Our twins had grown quite fond of the cows during our stay and would visit them in the mornings to say hello to them!

We had such a lovely time at Somerset Yurts and I would definitely return again.

Exclusive Reader Offer

If you’re thinking about booking a break at Somerset Yurts, I can offer you a voucher code for 10% off your stay. Simply use the code: TWINMUMDAD10%

This code is valid for holidays taken up until the end of October 2020.

In exchange for this review we were given a free two night stay at Somerset Yurts. All views and opinions are 100% my own.