Oh good grief – I knew I hadn’t done an update for a long time but I didn’t realise quite how long, huge apologies avid readers of the Sparkhayes blog…!  I think the summer holidays took their toll, having the children about the house and trying to keep up with them was a formidable task and it’s taken me until now to find all my marbles again..! 
 
It was a very pleasant summer in Porlock and we all enjoyed the annual Carnival, the walking festival, the events organised by our wonderful visitor’s centre and the host of additional activities organised by the National Trust and Exmoor National Park.  Even a visit from the Flying Scotsman.  We waved a sad goodbye to our wonderful road sweeper, Eric, who has always had a cheery word for us while doing an outstanding job at keeping the village tidy, but we’re assured he won’t be abandoning Porlock. 
 
In the immediate future, we’re looking forward to the Exmoor Dark Skies Festival, which runs from 19-29 October.  There are various events happening here in Porlock and many more across the moor, in celebration of our Dark Skies Reserve status, it really is a stunning place to see the stars (and everything else in the night sky!).  Find out more here http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/enjoying/stargazing/dark-skies-festival. 
 
As we move comfortably into Autumn, there is also the Apple Day events to look forward to, firstly the display of the apple press and rural crafts, which is held at Porlock Visitor’s Centre on Saturday 21st October and then Porlock Apple Day, which is organised by the custodians of the community orchard on Saturday 28 October.  At both events there will be pressing, merriment and delicious appley-refreshments.
 
I dare not mention Christmas at this stage (my brain is still somewhere in mid-June) but if you’re tempted to have an autumn break, do come and explore our glorious corner of Exmoor, where the woods are looking their very best in all their vibrant hues.  The camp site is open and the local hostelries ready to welcome the weary walker, so come and have a rest from the daily grind and refresh yourself before winter sets in.  We have some really glorious sunsets to enjoy.
 
Until next year… (only joking..!).

​This weekend the camp site is busy with people attending Weirfest – a brilliant small music and real ale festival held at our little harbour of Porlock Weir.  There’s always a great line up of live music and it’s a very pleasant place to sit and while away an hour, or two, or three with refreshments and good company.  Phil has had a rare break from his mower and been down there himself, he was impressed with the Silverbacks (I don’t like to admit I haven’t heard of them).
 
If you happen to be on Facebook, you can now look up Sparkhayes Campsite and check out the photos that Phil has posted there, among other things.  I truly never thought I’d see him on Facebook but I’ve been proved wrong!  The official Sparkhayes Facebook page is still in its infancy and doesn’t have a lot of content, but please add your own photos, etc if you like. We’ve had lots of campers ‘checking in’ on Facebook, which is pleasing, though they must be using their own 3G / 4G because we have always stuck by our ‘no wifi’ rule at Sparkhayes and tried to encourage our guests to unplug and unwind.  It’s such a peaceful, relaxing place to be and free wifi is available in the local pubs and cafes.  Some say our site is too basic, others love it because it is basic and in an era of having every need met before you even know it’s a need, it seems refreshing to stick to traditional camping at its best.
 
Talking of traditional, we’ve had a rare phenomenon happening this week – traction engines steaming up Porlock Hill!  If I can find a photo for you I will add it here asap.  But I have no idea where they were heading or if there was any purpose to the excursion other than the fun of finding out if they could get up the longest, steepest A-road in the country.  And did they get back down?  Were there brakes sufficient?!  If anyone has any further information I’d be glad to know (sparkhayes@hotmail.com), otherwise I’ll keep my ear to the ground.
 
The ground is unseasonably damp and it’s very frustrating but we thank all the campers (and determined Weirfest attendees) for putting up with it and we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that the sun will soon put his hat on and come back out to play! 

​Oh dear, I omitted to mention here the biggest event in the Sparkhayes calendar… the Duck Race..!  Apologies to anyone who missed out on this annual treat because I forgot to publish a reminder, consider me reprimanded.  We had a great day, the field was buzzing with excitement as the crowds enjoyed the races and we were really lucky to get them all completed before a little shower of rain arrived.  Thanks to everyone who came and supported this charitable event and we’ll look forward to seeing you all at the Carnival in September – I’m telling you now it’s on Saturday 2 September, you need to be in the village, parked and ready before 6pm.
 
It’s absolutely no excuse but I have been a little distracted lately, by my wonderful children and some little adventures we’ve been on.  We’ve sampled some of the delights of Dorset and camped for a night on the Isle of Purbeck, taking in the Maritime Festival at Poole Harbour, then we jetted to Scotland and enjoyed a hunt for Nessie while scoffing haggis flavoured crisps washed down with Iron Bru (I know how to have a good time hehe!). 
 
Our next wanderings might be a little more continental but for now, we are here to help and serve visitors to the most special corner of the UK, the beautiful and blissfully peaceful Porlock Vale.  An increasing number of folk seem to be relishing the escape from their newsfeeds, emails, televisions, election highlights, terror threats, etc, etc. If you need a break, come and find us here at Sparkhayes, where we’ve always encouraged visitors to ‘unplug’, and in turn unwind, at our basic but friendly camp site where some of us aren’t even 100% sure what wifi means… 

If you're bringing children to Porlock, you might wonder what there is to do with them.  As a mother, I have tried and tested most of the local activities and attractions and, off the top of my head, I've come up with the following suggestions.  These are just my ideas, I'd gladly welcome additions from anyone with more ideas - if you'd like to recommend great things to do in the Porlock area do let us know at sparkhayes@hotmail.com and we'll add them to this page! 

• You could go for a ride on the West Somerset Railway, Britain's longest heritage line, either all the way from Minehead to the end at Bishops Lydeard (an hour each way) or, because there's not a lot to do at Bishops Lydeard, you could stop part way at Watchet and have a wander around the marina, lunch and a nosy in the shops before heading back or you could stop at Blue Anchor, there's a good cafe called the Driftwood Cafe close to the station if you fancy it, and then walk back from Blue Anchor to Minehead along the beach.
  
• You could spend the day at Dunster Castle, there's some great walks through the gardens, a woodland play area, picnic area, interesting mill, lovely tea room and various family-friendly events going on through the summer (check their website for specifics!).
  
• You could take a very scenic drive up the infamous Porlock Hill and across the moors to Lynmouth, only half an hour or so but a noted drive for the scenery, finishing in a pretty coastal village (stony beach I'm afraid) but there's the cliff railway to enjoy, visit the Exmoor National Park visitor's centre at the bottom of the cliff railway to play their free games (including the computer-generated bug hunt), they do good food in their pavilion cafe and there's toys, books, accessible toilets, etc. Have a wander round Lynton and Lynmouth and enjoy an ice cream or fish and chips on the seafront!
  
• If you'd like another drive over the moor, head for Dulverton where there is lots of lovely shops and tea rooms and once you've parked you can walk over the bridge to find a pretty good children's play area.  Good sandy beaches can be found in Minehead and Dunster (if you go to the latter, include a wander around the little beach chalets, there's a shop for ice creams in the middle of them and behind them a lake with ducks to feed if you have any left over bread..!).
  
• Closer to home, you could walk to Porlock beach from the camp site with a picnic and make a camp fire on the beach with the driftwood you find there. You could take a walk through the woods to Porlock Weir for a spot of crabbing and a pub lunch, or if you're feeling fitter go from Porlock Weir to Culbone, the smallest parish church in England, which has quite a history and the walk there is lovely (easier coming back again!). There's the Hawk and Owl centre at Bossington and if the children enjoy riding you could hire horses at Burrowhayes in Horner and go for a wander through the woods with them (£11 for half an hour, prices correct last summer!).
• If they need to blow off steam and are bored with the campsite and making dams in the stream here you can take a five minute wander through Porlock up Parsons Street (next to the church) to find the Recreation Ground, there's a good play area (the disabled toilet is usually left unlocked) and tennis courts for you to use.  
  
• Depending on the age of the children, there's also fun to be had with Exmoor Adventures, who do kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding in Porlock Bay and the marshes, as well as local mountain biking.  

If you're dining out in Porlock, I can recommend The Mandala Pizza and Salad Emporium (!) because they're very child-friendly, not that other places aren't they just seem to excel at it.  

I hope that's enough to keep you going for now, happy exploring everyone..!

Nom nom, I’m guiltily scoffing a large piece of warm-from-the-oven simnel cake, having just put my children to bed without any, naughty mummy.  Happy Easter everyone!  I meant to post an update sooner but the Easter holidays came around so fast and now they’ve gone again, time really does fly when you’re having fun and there’s so much of it to be had around here :)
 
The camp site has been wonderfully busy, we’ve welcomed friends old and new to enjoy what has been perfect Easter camping weather – remarkably warm and sunny last week and although slightly cooler and more breezy this week we’ve all appreciated the blue skies and brightness.  The lambs are skipping in the fields, the blossom is blooming, the Easter bunny has been diligent, it’s all quite idyllic.
 
Not least here at Sparkhayes camp site, where the shower block has received a make-over; the ladies showers now benefit from extra space and new doors so that one may wash and dress in comfort.  I’d like to mention another development that has been very long awaited; rumour has it that creation of a new attraction at Sparkhayes is at last underway but I might be told off for doing so, I’ll have to keep you in suspense a while longer ;)
 
The village has burst into life (and the roads that are so very quiet during the winter have begun to take on their seasonal burden).  There have been mountain-bikers out in droves and campers booking guided walks and adventures on the bay on stand-up paddle boards (I can’t wait to have a go at this, once my youngest can survive a little while without me!).  Contact Exmoor Adventures if you’re interested.
 
Anyone who has known the village will remember it’s hardware shop; this is now under new management and has been brilliantly stocked full of so many useful and tempting things, so we recommend a visit there.  Whether you need camping supplies, cooking equipment, a gift to take home or a treat for yourself, there’s loads to choose from with friendly service in Porlock’s new Home and Hardware.
 
I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a delightful Porlock tradition that I witnessed again recently.  It’s one of the many things that makes Porlock a brilliant place to live.  Every Friday, when the working week is done, the staff from the Central Garage emerge with a large hand bell and proceed to ring it very noisily, denoting that 5pm has arrived and it’s time to down tools and relax.  They then engage in a game of football in the garage forecourt.  I am led to understand that this tradition has continued for many years and although my sleep-deprived brain is foggy, I seem to remember that it had started when the house over the road from the garage, which is now the Abbeyfield home, was owned privately and the gentleman living there had something to do with it; if anyone can shed some light on the history of this lovely tradition do let me know!  Anyway, when I happened to be walking through the High Street at 5pm a couple of Fridays ago, not only did the mechanics from the garage come out and ring their bell, the shop-keepers emerged from neighbouring Costcutter and Porlock Home and Hardware with their bells and hooters too..!  I love living in Porlock :)

Greetings and welcome to Spring...!  That's certainly how it feels here in Porlock.  We are lucky with our little micro-climate, the weather here does tend to be mild and this week we are blessed with snowdrops, daffodils and pink blossoms, as well as the first spring lambs.  They really enjoyed yesterday's blue skies and must have been relieved to find that the wind wasn't a permanent feature..!  Storm Doris did sweep through and knock a few things over but we escaped relatively unharmed, unlike much of the country.  

​One hardy camper pitched a tent the night before and it had disappeared by the next morning, we can only assume he didn't get blown away..!  A friend of mine wasn't lucky, her washing was 'stolen by Doris' and she believed it had disappeared into the stream, so she was setting off for the beach to have a look for it..!

I hope you made it through Valentines (don't worry, I didn't get a card either... *awww*).  However, I'm hoping you'll LOVE my latest idea, Sparkhayes on Facebook!  Some of the team are not entirely convinced by this foray into social media so I'm hoping that at the least you'll 'like' our page, share some reminiscences about Sparkhayes on it and help me to prove why having a Facebook page is a good idea.  Find us at www.facebook.com/sparkhayes.  

I can't believe we're nearly in March..!  It will soon be the time to see mad march hares - I have been lucky enough to spot breathtakingly beautiful hares here on Exmoor, not far from the camp site.  With such an abundance of wildlife, stunning views, friendly folk to chat to and a hundred and one things to do; if you're not in Porlock, why not?!  

Well, if you watch the news, it would be easy to believe that 2017 has been a pretty crazy year already and we’re only a month into it.  If it’s all a bit too depressing for you, put down the paper, turn the TV off and start planning a holiday to pretty Porlock this Spring.  We are fortunate enough to be quite isolated from national and international affairs and have a wonderfully relaxed pace known locally as ‘Porlock Time’…!  Holiday-makers are already starting to fill their diaries and make bookings with us, so think ahead and let us welcome you for a relaxing break.  We have our usual booking of a large group arriving on 2 July and departing on 7 July, so maybe avoid those dates if you can, and for bank holidays the advice is to book early if you’d like an electric hook up! 
 
While you’re filling in the diary, you might like to note various Porlock events; there’s the Charity Duck Race here at Sparkhayes on Sunday 28 May, our annual Weirfest from Thursday 29 June until Sunday 2 July and of course Porlock Carnival on Saturday 2 September to name a few..!  We’re also anticipating the second Samphire Festival, held within sight of the camp site, on Friday 7 – Sunday 9 July.  Voted best small festival of 2016, take a look at the video on the right if you’re curious!  If camping at the festival itself is a bit too much for you (and the family) come down to the village and rest your heads at Sparkhayes instead.
 
We’re sure you’ll be delighted to know that our prices are being held AGAIN!  So the 2015 prices remain for 2016 and 2017.  Hopefully that’s a refreshingly positive piece of news, among so many worrying ones.  Have you been to stay at Sparkhayes in the past twelve months?  Would you like to share some photos on our blog?  Send them to us at sparkhayes@hotmail.com and we’ll be glad to put them here. 
 
Looking forward to welcoming you, campers old and new, for a fantastic 2017 season.  

Wishing all our friends a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.  Thanks to you all for your custom and cheerful support during the past twelve months.  We hope you enjoy the festive season and we look forward to welcoming you to Sparkhayes in 2017.  

OK, no apologising this time… it’s nearly Christmas!  Porlock does Christmas really well and (most of us) are excited about the impending festive season.  There’s so much to see and do here and in surrounding villages.  Kicking off the festivities is Dunster by Candlelight, two really magical evenings of socialising, celebrating and shopping on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 December.  The castle and the water mill are open and the village is illuminated by thousands of candles, it’s quite a sight.  Parking can be a real problem, but organisers have laid on a bus service from Doverhay car park in Porlock.  The first bus leaves Porlock at 4.30pm and takes an hour to make the circular route to Dunster and back (allowing time for boarding, disembarking and traffic, etc).  It then operates each hour until the last bus back at 9.15pm. 

If you still need presents and a good Porlock-style social evening, come along to Porlock Late Night Shopping event on 10 December.  It’s an annual tradition for locals and visitors alike, the highlight of many people’s Christmas..!  Sample delicious food and drink and enjoy the street entertainment while finding those stocking fillers.  The fun starts at 6pm. 

Make a full weekend of it; on Sunday 11 December the Christmas concert at St Dubricius Church includes local singers, local musicians, a children’s nativity tableau, mince pies and mulled wine..!  What a festive treat.  The concert starts at 7.30pm and donations towards the church are welcome.  And if that isn’t enough, come and join in!  Sing up on Sunday 18 December with the traditional carol service, again at St Dubricius Church, this time starting at 6.30pm.
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All this makes me think that maybe I ought to be starting my Christmas cards.  And the wrapping… *gulp*.  Good luck everyone!

Well well, November already!  Bonfire Night in fact, as I write this.  Where does the time go?  We’re in the midst of crunchy leaves and poppy sales here in Porlock.  It really is a wonderful time of year to go for a walk, the plentiful woodlands look gloriously colourful and it’s still possible to find enough sunshine to light up the view.  Having said this, we thought we might be forced to walk, when it was recently announced that funding for the local bus service had been cut and that it was to be cancelled at the end of October..!  We were all incredulous, as there had seemed to be very little notice, there seemed very little room for negotiation and of course a large percentage of the population in West Somerset rely heavily on the buses.  Thankfully, a reprieve was given; temporary for now but with hopes to make it permanent.  Here’s the low-down from the Free Press:
 
“First Bus subsidiary Buses of Somerset was set to cancel its number 10 Minehead-Porlock service and the Minehead 101 town service before a compromise was thrashed out at a private meeting with the company and county and local councils on Monday.  As a result, Buses of Somerset has agreed to operate a reduced joint 10 and 101 service for two months at their own financial risk while Minehead Town Council, Porlock, and Selworthy and Minehead Without parish councils seek funding to support a permanent replacement bus service.  Hailing the scheme as “ground-breaking” and the first of its kind in Somerset, a county council spokesman said the new partnership should secure the future of a key local service.”
 
So, now that we’re all mobile again (for the time being at least), we can make it to some wonderful local events!  Much anticipated is the Exmoor Christmas Gift Fair, held in Porlock Village Hall on the 19th and 20th November. It’s a great opportunity to gather some locally-crafted gifts and catch up with the news over a lovely lunch. 
 
Looking further ahead (dare I mention it’s not long til Christmas?!) there is Porlock Late Night Shopping on Saturday 10 December, a date that many people travel to Porlock for.  Another tradition is the Carol Service at Stoke Pero church, 4pm on Sunday 27 November, and some enjoy walking there (I am reassured there are usually plenty of offers of a lift back to Porlock afterwards..!). 
 
Enjoy November everyone and don’t forget to buy a 2017 diary soon if you haven’t already, you’ll need to start planning your next visit to Sparkhayes camp site soon..!

Ooo, I nearly forgot - Porlock Bay Oysters have new stocks of oysters available for sale in Costcutters, among other places - hooray!