The Best Winter Picnic Spots in Somerset
When you think of picnics, winter might not be the first season that comes to mind. But there’s something undeniably magical about a cold-weather alfresco gathering. The frosted landscapes, peaceful surroundings, and excuse to wrap up in cosy layers make a winter picnic an adventure like no other.
Somerset’s natural beauty truly shines in winter, offering plenty of idyllic spots to enjoy a hearty meal and soak in the season. Here are my favourite winter picnic spots in Somerset — perfect for crisp days and scenic views.
“The best picnic isn't the one with the warmest weather. It's the one you actually went on. January counts.”
These are my five favourite winter picnic spots in Somerset. Flask. Layers. Go.
1. Glastonbury Tor
Mist, wind, ancient magic, and views that will rearrange your priorities slightly.
There is nowhere in Somerset quite like the Tor in winter. Nowhere, perhaps, in England.
The mist sits in the valleys below it like it's been arranged there. The wind at the top is a proper character — not a problem to be endured but part of the whole experience, the thing that makes you feel very small and very alive simultaneously. The views, when you get them between the cloud, stretch across the Levels all the way to the coast and feel almost disproportionately vast for somewhere you walked to from a car park.
I've picnicked on the Tor in snow. In thick January mist that turned the tower into a ghost. In bright February sunshine when the whole county was visible and golden. All of it is different. All of it is worth getting up for.
The walk up is your warm-up — brisk, satisfying, the kind of gentle exertion that makes you feel like a person who has their life together, at least for the next twenty minutes. Arrive before the world does. Stand at the top and look out at Somerset and remember why you live here.
What I'd pack: Parsnip and apple soup in the best thermos you own — this is not the moment for the leaky one. Crusty bread. Spiced apple muffins if you're in the mood to make them. Strong tea. Non-negotiable.
Practical tip: Go early — the Tor is more popular than people expect even in winter, and the morning light and quiet make it worth the alarm. Waterproof layers and proper boots are not optional. The path can be muddy and the top is genuinely exposed.
2. Wells Cathedral Green
Gothic grandeur, extraordinary quiet, and the licence to feel very literary about your lunch.
The Cathedral Green in winter has a quality of quiet that I find almost nowhere else.
The Gothic towers rise against a grey January sky and the whole place slows right down. No summer crowds, no distraction, no noise beyond the occasional bell and the polite indifference of the jackdaws. The Green itself is perfectly, almost formally beautiful — the kind of setting that makes you sit up a bit straighter and eat your sausage roll with more dignity than you normally would.
It's also genuinely practical. The nearby shops mean you can pick up provisions if you've forgotten something crucial — which I always have — and the Green has enough space to find a quiet corner even on a busy market day. I've picnicked here on cold December afternoons with hot chocolate and something from the local bakery and felt entirely, properly content.
There is something about a picnic in the shadow of a medieval cathedral in January that makes you feel like you're doing winter correctly.
What I'd pack: Warm sausage rolls, mini quiches, hot chocolate that is actually hot because you've brought a proper flask this time. Something from a local bakery for the sweet end — Wells has good options.
Practical tip: Market days (Wednesday and Saturday) bring extra life and good food stalls to Wells, making it easy to supplement your picnic with something from a local producer. The Green is most peaceful on quiet weekday afternoons.
3. Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor
The highest point in Somerset. Dramatic, wild, and absolutely worth the drive.
If you want dramatic, Dunkery Beacon is where you go.
As the highest point in Somerset, it offers sweeping views across the moorland in every direction — and in winter, when the landscape goes stark and particular and the light is low and golden all afternoon, it becomes something quite extraordinary. On a clear day you can see the Bristol Channel. On a frosted morning, the moorland stretches out in every direction like it goes on forever.
Exmoor in winter has a wild beauty that I don't find anywhere else in Somerset. It asks more of you — the drive is longer, the walk is more exposed, the weather more unpredictable — and gives back proportionally more. This is not a casual Tuesday afternoon spot. This is a destination. Plan for it and it will reward you properly.
Bring the thermos. Bring good boots. Go before the cloud comes in.
What I'd pack: Hearty pasties — something that travels in a bag and doesn't need unwrapping with cold fingers. A flask of tomato and basil soup. Rich fruitcake. Strong tea, as always, as non-negotiably as ever.
Practical tip: Dunkery is exposed — really exposed. Check the weather forecast carefully before you go and add at least two layers to whatever you think is sufficient. The walk from the car park to the beacon is around a mile on open moorland, so dress and pack accordingly. Go early to make the most of the winter light.
Hestercombe House - captured by Christ White (Aug 20202
4. Hestercombe Gardens
Lutyens and Jekyll in winter — quieter, more contemplative, and entirely beautiful.
Hestercombe is one of those places that changes completely with the season.
The formal gardens — designed by Lutyens and planted by Jekyll, which tells you exactly the level of considered beauty we're talking about — take on a different, quieter quality in winter. The summer abundance gives way to something more architectural: the bones of the planting visible, the paths less trafficked, the whole place less visited and somehow more yours. The views across the Vale of Taunton Deane are clear and wide in winter in a way that the summer foliage doesn't allow.
It's worth knowing that Hestercombe's main gardens don't permit picnics inside the formal areas — they have a dedicated picnic spot near the entrance which is worth seeking out, and honestly just as lovely. I've sat there on a bright January afternoon with roasted vegetable tarts and a flask of hot chocolate watching the light move across the hills and felt very much like I'd made the right decision with my day.
What I'd pack: Warm roasted vegetable tarts, cheddar scones, hot chocolate in a proper flask. A slice of Dundee cake if you're leaning into the season. This spot deserves something considered.
Practical tip: Picnics are not permitted inside the formal gardens — use the dedicated picnic area near the entrance. Check the Hestercombe website for opening times and any seasonal events before you visit. Entry is paid.
5. Porlock Weir
Ancient harbour, winter sea, and the specific satisfaction of being properly, gloriously braced.
Porlock Weir in winter is for people who understand that 'bracing' is a compliment.
The harbour is ancient and rugged and beautiful in a way that has nothing to do with prettiness and everything to do with character. In winter the sea is loud, the sky is dramatic, and the whole place has an energy that feels less like a tourist destination and more like somewhere that was here long before you arrived and will be here long after. I mean this as the highest possible praise.
The sea air at Porlock in January gets into your lungs and does something good to them — that particular coastal cold that makes you feel very alive and slightly heroic for having driven there. The views from the weir out across the channel are extraordinary in winter light, and the combination of rugged shoreline and the wooded hills rising steeply behind it is unlike anywhere else in Somerset.
Come for the air. Stay for the view. Come home with pink cheeks and a very good story.
What I'd pack: Fresh fish and chips from the village if you can get them — this is genuinely the move and I will hear no arguments. If not: something hearty and portable and warming. Strong tea. This is not a spread-on-a-blanket spot. This is standing-by-the-harbour-eating-something-good energy.
Practical tip: The drive to Porlock Weir via Porlock Hill is notoriously steep — check brakes and take it slowly, or use the toll road alternative. The harbour itself has limited parking so arrive early, especially if visiting on a fine winter weekend. Wrap up properly. The wind off the channel is no joke.
How to actually do a winter picnic
The flask is not optional. I cannot stress this enough. A good thermos, filled with something hot and carried everywhere — this is the single thing that transforms a winter picnic from an endurance test into a joy. Get the flask right and everything else follows.
Layers are a love language. More than you think. One more than that.
A groundsheet or something waterproof underneath your blanket — not glamorous, entirely necessary. Cold and damp are two different problems. You can dress for cold. Nobody has ever enjoyed sitting on wet ground.
Plan around the light. Winter days are short and the good light is shorter still. Midday is often the warmest and brightest — plan your picnic for the middle of the day and don't dawdle getting there.
Go. That's the tip. The one that matters. The winter picnic you keep meaning to have is never as cold as you're imagining, always better than the afternoon on the sofa, and almost always the thing you talk about for weeks afterwards.
Somerset in winter is extraordinary if you go looking for it. These five spots are the ones I come back to — each one worth the drive, the layers and the slightly smug feeling of being outside in January while everyone else watches Netflix.
Pack the good flask. Choose someone worth sitting next to. Go before you talk yourself out of it.
Love Gemma xx
ps: p.s. The full guide — all four seasons, all the spots, everything you need to picnic through a Somerset year: -> The Best Picnic Spots in Somerset: A Local's Complete Seasonal Guide
Modern life is fast, loud, and relentlessly digital. We wake up to notifications, scroll before breakfast, and cram our days with to-do lists longer than a picnic blanket. We live in a world of instant gratification and endless screens, where meals are rushed, conversations happen via text, and ‘switching off’ feels impossible.