A Private Mendip Hideaway with the Hot Tub On All Year
The tub is lit and steaming on the gravel by the time you have carried the bags in, and that is honestly the whole pitch. The Nookery is a two-floor annex standing in the garden of Churchill Green Farm, on the western edge of Churchill in the Mendip Hills of North Somerset, and for the length of your stay the entire place belongs to one booking: your own front door, your own patch of garden, your own six-seat tub with nobody else using it.
Pick it if you want a couples' bolthole with a hot tub, a securely fenced garden for the dogs, and pubs, caves and a cider farm inside a few miles. Skip it if you need everything on one level, because the bedroom and the sitting room are up a flight of stairs and there is no way round them.
Becky and Roy live in the farmhouse next door and run the let themselves, which is why guests keep writing home about the welcome pack, the birthday surprises and a garden fence that genuinely holds. There is free parking on the gravel outside, room for a second car if you say so on the day, an electric-car charger that none of the travel listings mention, and Churchill's real-ale pub a few minutes up the lane on foot. The Nookery suits couples and dog owners who want the countryside without giving up a proper kitchen, fast WiFi and a tub they can sit in on a wet Tuesday in February.
Kitchen Downstairs, Sitting Room Up in the Eaves
Inside, the annex is two floors of quiet, modern country comfort. The ground floor holds the kitchen and the shower room: pale marble worktops under a honeycomb tiled splashback, sage-green canisters and a mint-green toaster, a bread bin tucked into the shelving beneath the staircase, and a glass shower with folded mustard towels waiting on the sill. Everything you need to cook a real supper is here, which matters when you are a mile from the nearest shop.
Upstairs is where you will spend the evenings. Under a vaulted white ceiling and a Velux that frames the sky, a deep grey corner sofa sits on a dark diamond-patterned rug with mustard cushions and a bumblebee print, two wicker pendants hang like beehives over the dining table, and the television has streaming ready to go. The bedroom is the room people photograph: a king bed under a mustard throw, rattan shades, a window over the garden. It sleeps two as standard, there is a second double in the same room and a free cot for under-twos, and small families are taken. Because the maximum head count is stated differently in different places, confirm yours for your dates when you book.
The Tub, the Terrace and Why the Dogs Love It
The hot tub seats six, runs in every season and is yours alone; only a corner of the family's own garden looks towards it, and the single rule is that it falls quiet at 22:30 out of respect for the neighbours. Around it you get a wisteria-hung pergola, a flagstone terrace with two rattan chairs that catch the late sun, a lawn big enough for a proper game and a table laid for six under the trees. In November the hosts will turn the temperature down for children, and they will set up balloons, cake and something chilled for a birthday if you ask ahead.
Dog owners get the best of it. Returning guests call the fence the most secure they have used, so you can open the door after a walk and stop watching the gate. Cats cannot be accommodated: the new carpets have a deep pile and the fitters were blunt about what that means. You are properly in the country here, which is the point, so bring a first-night shop with you. The nearest small store is about a mile off and the fuller supermarket is over at Winscombe, and the standing advice from guests who arrived hungry is simply to pack the snacks.
Why Book The Nookery?
The Nookery is at its best for two people and a dog or two who want a quiet Mendip base with a kitchen, a garden and a hot tub, rather than a room in a hotel with a car park.
The tub is genuinely private
Six seats, heated in every month of the year, used only by whoever holds the booking, with a 22:30 quiet cut-off for the neighbours.
A fence that actually holds
The garden is fully enclosed and a returning guest with dogs rates it the most secure she has stayed in. Dogs are £30 per dog per stay.
Arrive and charge
Free parking on site, space for a second car with notice, and an electric-car charging point billed at cost with the meter evidence shown.
Mendips without the transfer
Cheddar Gorge and Bristol Airport are each about fifteen minutes away, and the Crown Inn is a few minutes on foot.
Check Availability at The Nookery
Interesting Points About The Nookery
- There is an electric-car charging point on site and it appears on no facility list anywhere. The hosts confirmed it in May 2026: you charge, they show you the meter evidence, and you settle at cost by bank transfer.
- The “hot spring bath” that travel listings attach to this property is a mislabel. What is actually here is a six-seat Hot Springs-brand hot tub standing on gravel beside the annex, filled and heated all year, and used only by whoever has the booking.
- The skiing, archery and canoeing flags on the same listings are not on-site facilities either. They point at the Mendip Activity Centre on Lyncombe Drive in Churchill, a 250-acre site running since 1987 with Somerset's only all-season dry ski slope, a floodlit 165-metre run, plus tobogganing, climbing, kayaking and frisbee golf.
- Churchill Green Farm is Grade II listed in its own right (Historic England list entry 1391032, listed 19 July 2004): a late-18th-century rendered stone farmhouse under a clay double-Roman tile roof, with a symmetrical three-bay south front and 16-pane sash windows. The annex sits inside its curtilage.
- This is not a step-free stay. Only the kitchen and shower room are on the ground floor; the bedroom and sitting room are up a single flight, and the hosts have said plainly that the property does not suit a guest with limited mobility.
Rooms & Accommodation at The Nookery
One-Bedroom Villa
Sleeps 2 as standard · Entire annex · 45 m²
There is only one unit here and you take all of it: roughly 45 m² across two floors, detached, with its own entrance and no shared space beyond the car park. The kitchen and shower room are downstairs, the sitting room and bedroom upstairs under the eaves, and the terrace, garden and hot tub are outside your door. Two adults are the comfortable fit and the reason most people book. Small families are accepted, with a second double in the bedroom, a free cot for under-twos, a high chair and stair gates, but the exact maximum is stated inconsistently across booking platforms, so ask the hosts to confirm it for your dates before you pay.
Check PricesAmenities and Facilities
The Whole Place, Yours
- Entire detached annex, no shared areas beyond the car park
- Private entrance and private check-in
- Six-seat hot tub, heated all year, quiet from 22:30
- Fully enclosed, dog-secure garden
- Wisteria pergola, flagstone terrace and outdoor furniture
- Outdoor dining table under the trees
- Garden and inner-courtyard outlook
- Not available: Balcony
- Not available: Swimming pool
- Not available: Spa or wellness centre
Kitchen and Laundry
- Oven, hob and extractor
- Microwave, four-slice toaster and electric kettle
- Fridge, kitchenware and a dining table
- Cafetiere, with tea and coffee provided
- Washing machine, clothes rack and drying rack
- Iron and ironing facilities
- Cleaning products and hand sanitiser
- Not available: Restaurant on site
- Not available: Breakfast service
Living and Sleeping
- King bed and a second double in the same room
- Vaulted sitting room with corner sofa and seating area
- Flat-screen TV with a streaming service
- Radio, board games and puzzles
- Heating throughout, plus a fan for warm nights
- Wardrobe, linen and a socket beside the bed
- Shower room with towels, bathrobes, hairdryer and free toiletries
- Carpet upstairs, tile and marble floors downstairs
Parking, Dogs and Family
- Free private parking on site, no reservation needed
- Room for a second car when you give notice on the day
- Electric-car charging point, billed at cost by bank transfer
- Free WiFi throughout, rated highly by guests
- Well-behaved dogs welcome, £30 per dog per stay
- Travel cot for under-twos on request, at no charge
- Children's high chair, stair gates, books and DVDs
- Not available: Cats
- Not available: Step-free access
- Not available: Airport shuttle
Location and Getting Around
Churchill Green sits on the western edge of Churchill, a North Somerset village at the foot of the Mendip Hills. Post comes through Winscombe, which is why some travel listings file the address there, but the settlement, the parish and the pub are Churchill's, and the A368 through the village is the road to everything. This is working farmland: livestock in the field beyond the fence, big trees along the boundary, and hedgerow lanes that turn into a proper frosty dog walk on a January morning.
The Crown Inn is the local, a few minutes on foot at The Batch on Skinners Lane. It is a genuine survivor, several small stone-flagged rooms warmed by two log fires, five or six gravity-poured local ales and lunchtime food, and it has been a Good Beer Guide regular for years. About a mile away, a walk guests say looks longer than it turns out to be, the Railway Inn stands beside the cider farm at Sandford, pouring the full Thatchers range and cooking with local produce. The line it was named after is now the Strawberry Line, a traffic-free path running from Yatton through Sandford to Cheddar past the orchards.
Five minutes by car brings you to the Mendip Activity Centre, the dry ski slope in Churchill that explains the skiing and archery flags you may have seen. Fifteen minutes brings Cheddar Gorge and its show caves, ten brings Burrington Combe and Black Down, and twenty brings the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare. Bristol Airport is roughly fifteen minutes up the A38, which makes this a rare piece of deep countryside you can reach without a long transfer. Bring the car all the same: the nearest small shop is about a mile off, the closest bus stops are getting on for two miles away, and the best of the Mendips is spread out.
- The Crown Inn, Churchill: A few minutes' walk. Unchanged stone-flagged rooms, two log fires and local ales served straight from the barrel.
- Mendip Activity Centre: 5-minute drive. Somerset's only all-season dry ski slope, plus tobogganing, archery, climbing and kayaking on a 250-acre site.
- The Railway Inn at Thatchers: About a mile on foot, or 5 minutes by car. The cider maker's own restored pub on the Strawberry Line at Sandford.
- Thatchers Cider, Myrtle Farm: About a mile. Two-hour guided tours with tasting at a family cider farm founded in 1904.
- Cheddar Gorge and Caves: 15-minute drive. Cliffs rising over 450 ft, and the cave where Britain's oldest complete skeleton was found.
- Burrington Combe and Black Down: 10-minute drive. A miniature gorge and Beacon Batch, the highest point in the Mendips.
- Blagdon Lake and Chew Valley Lake: 10 to 15-minute drive. Trout reservoirs with easy lakeside walking and birdwatching hides.
- Weston-super-Mare seafront: 20-minute drive. The Grand Pier, miles of sand, and dog-friendly Sand Bay round the headland.
- Bristol Airport: 15-minute drive, about 7.5 miles north on the A38.
- Yatton and Worle stations: About 5 miles each. The nearest trains, on the Bristol to Exeter line.
Getting to Key Locations
Photo: Neil Owen, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Crown Inn, Churchill
The village local is a few minutes up the lane on foot and it is the real thing: several small stone-flagged rooms, two log fires and five or six local ales poured straight from the barrel. Food is a lunchtime affair rather than an evening menu, so plan your day around it. It has been a Good Beer Guide regular for years and it is the best reason you will find to get out of the hot tub.
View on Map
Photo: PAUL FARMER, CC BY-SA 2.0
Burrington Combe and Black Down
Ten minutes north the limestone splits open into Burrington Combe, a miniature gorge with the road running through the middle of it and caves in the walls either side. Park at the bottom and walk up onto Black Down for Beacon Batch, the highest ground in the Mendips and the biggest sky within reach of the door. It is quieter than Cheddar and free to wander, which is why locals come here first.
View on Map
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cheddar Gorge and Caves
Fifteen minutes east the plateau is cut in half by England's most dramatic gorge, its cliffs rising over 450 feet above the road. The show caves below include Gough's Cave, where Britain's oldest complete skeleton was found, and the clifftop walk above hands you the whole thing from the top. Book tickets before you travel in school holidays, because the village car parks fill early.
View on Map
Photo: ArticCynda, CC BY-SA 4.0
Weston-super-Mare seafront
Twenty minutes west the hills run out at the Bristol Channel and you get a full seaside day: the Grand Pier on its stilts, miles of flat sand and the amusements behind it. Round the headland at Sand Bay the beach stays dog friendly all year, which matters if the dogs have come with you. Go on a falling tide, because the mud flats here run a very long way out.
View on MapHow to Get to The Nookery
- Leave Bristol Airport on the A38: Turn south out of the airport and follow the A38 signed Bridgwater. It is about 7.5 miles and 10 to 15 minutes to the Churchill lights.
- Turn off at the Churchill traffic lights: Where the A38 crosses the A368, turn west onto the A368 signed Churchill and Weston-super-Mare. The Crown Inn and Skinners Lane are on your right as you enter the village.
- Carry on to Churchill Green: Churchill Green is on the western side of the village. Look for the white farmhouse behind a red-brown stone wall, with a stone-arched garden door beside the pair of white barn doors.
- Park on the gravel and check in: Parking is free and on site, with space for a second car if you let the hosts know on the day. Check-in runs from 15:00 to 22:30, and they ask you to confirm your arrival time before you travel.
- Coming by train instead: Yatton and Worle are the nearest stations, each about 5 miles away on the Bristol to Exeter line, and a taxi covers the last leg. Book the taxi ahead of time, because the mobile signal out here is patchy.
The Mendip Hills and Cheddar
The Mendip Hills are one of southern England's most walkable limestone landscapes, and this corner of them is the good bit. Cheddar Gorge cuts through the plateau fifteen minutes away, its cliffs rising over 450 feet, with show caves beneath and a clifftop walk above. Burrington Combe is the quieter miniature version ten minutes north, with Black Down and Beacon Batch behind it, the highest ground in the range and the best place here for a big sky.
It is also cider and outdoors country. The traffic-free Strawberry Line runs from Yatton through Sandford to Cheddar past Thatchers' orchards, which makes an easy family bike ride; the cider farm itself does two-hour guided tours with a tasting at the end. Churchill has the dry ski slope and its archery and climbing, Blagdon and Chew Valley Lakes are ten to fifteen minutes for trout, birds and a lakeside stroll, and Weston-super-Mare puts a proper Bristol Channel seafront twenty minutes away.
Two practical notes. Book Cheddar Gorge tickets and any cider tour in advance, especially in school holidays, when the whole area gets busy. And keep an evening free for the pubs, because that is where this area actually shows itself: the Crown up the lane in Churchill, the Railway Inn at the brewery in Sandford, and a dozen more within a short drive.
Cheddar Gorge and Caves
A full walk-through of Cheddar village, the gorge road and the show caves, the marquee day out about fifteen minutes from the door.
Is The Nookery worth it?
Yes, if you want the whole place to yourselves with a hot tub that runs all year and a garden the dogs cannot escape. Two people get a king bed, a full kitchen, free parking and an electric-car charger, with Cheddar Gorge, the cider farm and Bristol Airport each a short drive away. Skip it if you need a ground-floor bedroom, or if a quiet lane a mile from the nearest small shop sounds like hard work rather than the point.
What Guests Say About The Nookery
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Exceptional
Guests describe a spotless, thoughtfully stocked hideaway where the hosts do the small things nobody asks for: a welcome pack, a birthday surprise, a message to check the rooms are not too warm. The hot tub and the secure garden come up again and again, and so does the surprise of how much there is to do within a few miles. The only caveat anyone raises is practical rather than structural, and it is the same one every time: this really is the countryside, so bring the car and bring the snacks.
Called the place beautifully presented and spotless from end to end, with a personal touch running through it. Nothing at all to complain about.
Glynne
Called the place beautifully presented and spotless from end to end, with a personal touch running through it. Nothing at all to complain about.
2026-07-27Rated it a find. Handy for the attractions she wanted, pretty and comfortable, stocked with everything she could think of needing, and a host for whom no request was too much bother.
2026-07-11Back for a second stay with her dogs. She rates the garden the most secure she has used, so she could relax instead of watching for a gap in the fence, and praised the off-road parking, the spotless decor, the big comfortable bed and the strong WiFi. The host checked in to make sure the rooms were not too warm.
2026-07-07Found it cute, snug, well laid out and clean, and walked over to the Railway Inn at the brewery for dinner: further-looking than it turned out to be, and a pleasant amble. Her honest tip was to pack snacks, because it is remote and the closest shop is a basic one.
2026-06-25Credited Becks, Roy and the family with one of the best stays she has had anywhere. Cosy, warm, spotless and fully kitted out, with thoughtful extras and a special welcome laid on for her boyfriend's birthday. The hot tub was the finishing touch, and the amount to do nearby caught her off guard.
2026-06-17Described it as beautifully finished, very comfortable and very clean, with everything needed already there. He called the surroundings a real gem of a weekend hideaway.
2026-06-07Stayed four days in early June and could not fault a thing about it. A smart two-floor holiday home with every amenity he and his partner wanted.
2026-06-05Praised a place furnished with real thought and said he would happily book it again.
2026-05-29Good to Know Before You Book
The hot tub is yours, and it is on all year
It seats six, it is heated in every season, and only your booking uses it. The one rule is a 22:30 cut-off for noise out of respect for the neighbours, and the temperature can be turned down if children are getting in.
Stairs to the bedroom, no way round them
The kitchen and shower room are on the ground floor and the bedroom and sitting room are up a single flight. The hosts have confirmed the property does not suit a guest with limited mobility, so book elsewhere if you need everything on one level.
It really is rural, so shop first
The nearest convenience store is about a mile away and modest with it, and there is a fuller supermarket over at Winscombe. Bring food for the first evening at least, and bring the car: the closest bus stops are getting on for two miles away and the mobile signal is patchy.
Dogs yes, cats no, and you can charge the car
Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the secure garden at £30 per dog per stay whatever the length, and £40 in total for three, paid to the hosts separately by bank transfer. Cats cannot be accommodated because of the new deep-pile carpets. The electric-car charger is billed at cost, with the meter evidence shown.
Arrival, quiet hours and the house rules
Check-in runs from 15:00 to 22:30 and the hosts ask you to confirm your arrival time in advance. Check-out is by 11:00, though 11:30 has been agreed on request before. Quiet hours are 22:00 to 07:00, the whole place is non-smoking, and hen, stag and party bookings are not taken.
Cancellation, payment and damage
Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary with the option you choose and are set out in full before you confirm, so read them at the point of booking. Payment for the stay is taken online, but keep cash for anything on site. Under the damage policy you could be asked to cover up to £430 after check-out.
Photos of The Nookery
Frequently Asked Questions
The property stands at Churchill Green, on the western edge of the village of Churchill in North Somerset. Winscombe is only the post town, about a mile and three quarters away across the parish boundary, which is why some travel listings file the address there. The postcode is BS25 5QH and the setting is the Mendip Hills, roughly fifteen minutes from Cheddar Gorge and the same from Bristol Airport.
The hot tub is exclusively yours for the whole stay, in every season. It seats six, it sits on gravel beside the annex with only a corner of the family's own garden looking towards it, and there is no shared use of any kind. Noise stops at 22:30 for the neighbours, and the hosts will lower the temperature if children are getting in.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome and the garden is fully enclosed for them. The charge is £30 per dog per stay whatever the length of the booking, or £40 in total for three dogs, settled with the hosts by bank transfer rather than at the time of booking. Cats cannot be accommodated: the carpets are new and deep-piled, and the fitters advised against it.
Two guests is the standard occupancy and the reason most people book it. The single bedroom holds a king bed and a second double, a cot can be added free for under-twos, and there is a high chair, stair gates and children's books and DVDs, so small families are taken. The maximum head count is stated differently on different booking platforms, so agree yours with the hosts for your dates before you pay.
Parking is free, private and on site, with no need to reserve it, and there is room for a second car if you give the hosts notice on the day of arrival. There is also an electric-car charging point at the property, which appears on none of the facility lists. You pay only for what you use, by bank transfer, with the meter evidence shown to you.
Check-in runs from 15:00 to 22:30 and check-out is until 11:00. The hosts ask you to tell them your expected arrival time in advance, since they meet guests themselves. A later check-out has been agreed on request in the past, but treat it as a favour to ask for rather than something guaranteed.
It is not a step-free property. Only the kitchen and the shower room are on the ground floor, and the bedroom and sitting room are reached by a single flight of stairs with no alternative route. The hosts have said plainly that it does not suit a guest with limited mobility, so choose a ground-floor property instead if that matters.
There is no breakfast service and no restaurant, because this is a self-catering property. The kitchen is fully fitted with an oven, hob, microwave, fridge, toaster and kettle, and tea and coffee are provided along with a welcome pack. Bring a food shop with you for the first morning, as the nearest small store is about a mile away.
The Crown Inn in Churchill is a few minutes on foot, a stone-flagged local with log fires and gravity-poured ales, and the Railway Inn beside the Thatchers cider farm at Sandford is about a mile. For days out you have the Mendip Activity Centre and its dry ski slope in the village, Cheddar Gorge and its caves fifteen minutes away, Burrington Combe ten, and Weston-super-Mare twenty.
Cancellation and prepayment terms vary with the option you select and are shown in full before you confirm, so check them at the point of booking rather than assuming. Payment for the stay itself is taken online, while dog charges and electric-car charging are settled directly with the hosts by bank transfer. Keep some cash for anything else on site.
Other Somerset and Bristol-Area Stays
Savoy Hotel, Weston-super-Mare
Pick this over The Nookery when you want the seafront, a bar and a staffed desk rather than a kitchen and a garden. Twenty minutes west, and a better fit for a group than a couple with dogs.
Charlecote House, Bath
The same self-catering idea aimed at a city break instead of a country one. Choose it when you want Georgian Bath on foot; there is no hot tub and no enclosed garden for dogs.
The Fox Inn, Hawkesbury Upton
Another village stay north of Bristol, but a pub with rooms rather than a place of your own. Take it when you would rather eat downstairs than cook, and do not need a private tub.
Ready to Book The Nookery?
The tub, the garden and the whole annex go to one booking at a time, and summer weekends and school holidays go first. Check your dates while they are still open.
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