Camel Trekking in Somerset by Rupert Isaacson
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The fire, laboriously built, is now crackling nicely. The tents are pitched and dinner is not far off. The camels lie around, relaxed and contented after their day’s trek. One sits a little stiffly, contented after the long day astride the slowly swaying beast, nursing a mug of coffee and staring at the flames. The moon comes up over the bare heights of Gaza, over the acute silhouette of the Great Pyramid, over the massed palm trees of the Nile Bank, over the cracked and jagged peaks of the Hoggar Mountains of the Sahara’s harsh interior, over the endless expanses of the Gobi. Anywhere the imagination wants to go. The location is not the Middle East, nor North Africa, nor Central Asia, but Somerset. The moon rises over the Quantock Hills. The camels munch contentedly on their hay.
It sounds strange. It is strange. Yet why not? How very British to find a camel trekking centre nestled in the lush hills of the West Country. Everyone has certainly been surprised on the bridleway that day - shying ponies, barking dogs, pointing open-mouthed children - to see the camel making its stately way along the track to the open moor. Camels are nothing if not dignified, responding not to kicks of the heels, nor even to pleading entreaty - they go at their own pace, thank you very much, (adrenaline-junkies might get a little frustrated on a camel trek), but they reach their destination in the end, covering more ground in a day than any other riding animal can.
Why take a camel trek in Britain? Apart from the surreal aspect of it (as good a reason as any. let’s face it), camels do offer a very different perspective on a landscape. One sits much, much higher than would be possible on a horse - far above hedgerow, and sometimes even tree height. One always have a commanding view, whether into someone’s back garden (“Mummy, it’s those camel people again!”) or out over the green patchwork of the countryside. The beasts themselves are also charming, despite the species’ reputation for kicking and biting. They graciously consent to allow one onto their backs by kneeling down; they will not - like horses - shy at plastic bags and run away from imaginary ghosts in the gorse.
The Bridgewater Camel Company, which operates from a farm at the foot of the Quantocks in western Somerset, offers guided camel rides by the hour, half-day, day or overnight treks sleeping under canvas, the camels forming a protective ring around the tents. For this last, one needs to bring a sleeping-bag, sleeping-mat, clothes and toiletries; the food and other equipment are provided.
Pretty much anyone can take a camel trek - even some disabled people. However, if you’ve got a bad back don’t try it, and if heights scare you, you should also give this one a miss; you’re up high, precariously balanced and swaying into the bargain. If you have a decent sense of balance, however, you’ll enjoy the strange motion - very much like being in a boat in a strong but steady swell.
Best of all is the dinner-party mileage it gives. “Did anything last weekend?”
“Oh, not much - trekked through Somerset on a camel; nice creature; ate a rambler’s woolly hat; would keep groaning at night though...”