A FAMILY-RUN campsite in Somerset has been named the best in the county by a Channel 4 show, The Perfect Pitch.

The owners of Batcombe Vale Campsite are "excited" to have won the award and are looking forward to showing visitors their winner's plaque when the site re-opens in April. 

The first series of The Perfect Pitch saw "camping connoisseurs" visit five campsites in a different part of the UK each week. 

Since the first episode was broadcast at the end of September, the show has visited the Lake District, Pembrokeshire, and the Jurassic Coast.

Last week’s episodes, shown on weekday evenings at 5:30pm, saw three sets of campers visit five Somerset campsites: Batcombe Vale, Nettwood Farm, Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, Petruth Paddocks, and Burton Springs. 

When they were in Somerset, the campers – Val and Moonie, Sam and Molly, and the Oram family – tried out different activities and took on several challenges. 

This included rowing on Batcombe Vale's private lake, sampling local cheese and cider, rock-climbing at Cheddar Gorge, sailing, and visiting Glastonbury Tor.  

The series was narrated by former Gavin and Stacey and Love Actually star Joanna Page. 

Dominique and Andrew Curtis, owners of Batcombe Vale Campsite, wrote on their Facebook page yesterday: "We're so excited to have won Channel 4’s The Perfect Pitch Somerset edition.

"Thank you to the fantastic team at Channel 4's Avanti Media, the wonderful participants Sam and Molly, Val and Moonie and the Oram family, to the delicious Westcombe Dairy and also to our terrific team and our super guests.

"We are looking forward to showing off the winner’s plaque to our visitors when we reopen for next season on April 29, 2022!"

The winner was decided by the groups of campers. 

At the end of every episode, the three groups each gave one of the campsites a score out of five. 

The scores were then added together to give the campsites an overall score out of 15. 

Here is how the leaderboard looked at the end of the week:

1. Nettwood Farm, East Harptree: 15/15

2. Batcombe Vale, near Bruton: 14.5/15

3. Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, Keynsham: 13/15

4. Burton Springs, near Bridgwater: 12.5/15

5. Petruth Paddocks, Cheddar: 11/15

Somerset County Gazette: LUSH CAMPSITES: Joanna Page narrates The Perfect Pitch (Image: Ian West, PA Wire)LUSH CAMPSITES: Joanna Page narrates The Perfect Pitch (Image: Ian West, PA Wire)

Crowning the winner

At the end of Friday's episode, the campers voted between the two highest-scoring campsites – Batcombe Vale and Nettwood Farm – to determine the overall winner.

After a close vote, Batcombe Vale was named Somerset’s Perfect Pitch.

Val and Moonie, who voted for Batcombe Vale, said: "It was by far the prettiest, the campsite was just magical.”

Sam and Molly, who cast the winning vote, added: "The reason we’ve picked this place is because the atmosphere was magical.

"We thought the activities were great, the location was great." 

After being presented with the slate plaque, owner Andrew said: "I think winning The Perfect Pitch Somerset is the highlight of this season." 

To watch The Perfect Pitch, visit: www.channel4.com/programmes/the-perfect-pitch.