After a long spell of rain, the weather has finally come good and blessed us with not only sunshine but a heatwave to boot..!  It's time to head for those beautifully cool Exmoor combes, with the shade of their ancient oaks and the sparkle of the rushing river. Dipping one's feet, or possibly a lot more, in the still-icy water is the best refreshment during such warm weather.

Back at the campsite things have been progressing very smoothly.  We have really enjoyed welcoming campers back and it's lovely to see the fields busy again. Not a lot has changed in Porlock village; the shops have largely survived the past 18 months and are benefitting from people coming to visit again.  All of nature can be seen in abundance, with the hedgerows absolutely bursting into life and singing with the sound of happy insects. Larger wildlife is also thriving, recent encounters with a handsome pricket (that's a young stag of course) and a swift-running fox show all is as it should be.

Certain changes are welcome of course. The nearby village of Malmsmead had become a little neglected in recent years, but a large part of it has been taken over by the National Trust, along with the famous Doone Valley.  This picturesque village (maybe hamlet is more accurate) now boasts a National Trust tea room which serves very decent cream teas - sampled for research purposes only obviously.

Back here in the village, regular visitors will remember a shop called The Mandala, which used to serve pizza among other things. It has at last reopened under new ownership and now Ted's serves delicious pizza, ice cream, coffee and more and is well worth a visit too. Also our village clock, mounted on the church tower, had succumbed to the passing of time (how ironic!).  A fantastic fundraising effort was made and we can happily report that the funds are now in place to repair this historic and much-valued local feature. 

Why not visit us and come to see all of this and much much more for yourself?! 

After the rain comes the rainbows!

We wait with great anticipation for 12 April, along with a lot of potential campers who have been getting in touch with us recently.  We are keeping a close eye / ear on the news, because it might well be that there will be limitations on the facilities we can offer to begin with. We thank you all for bearing with us!  

If you'd like to discuss a provisional booking, please call Phil Weaver on 07721 045123.  Many thanks.

It is with enormous relief (and a little trepidation) that we anticipate re-opening on 12 April 2021.  What a crazy time it's been and we have so missed our customers and the rhythm of the camp site throughout the year.  It will be so good to have your company again and to see the field being used by occupants other than sheep.  

The terms of our re-opening will follow in due course as we follow the Government's advice. It may well be the case that we are unable to open all facilities immediately, so some patience will be required until we have got the go-ahead to fully re-open. In the meantime, we hope to provide some much-overdue camping experiences to those who are able to rely on their own, or reduced, facilities. 

With all good wishes to our customers, here's hoping that the 2021 season will be a joyful one.

Sadly, Sparkhayes Campsite will have to close on 5 November 2020, in accordance with the Government's advice.  It will be a shame to have to close our gate again, particularly with the weather about to improve (perhaps!). 

​We thank everyone who has stayed with us, or made enquiries this year, for their patience and understanding.

We hope all our customers and compatriots stay safe and happy and we hope to see you again soon.

Photos from September 2020, a brief but happy open period! 

Well, it was a strange summer, there's no doubt about that.  We have continued to welcome campers to our socially-distanced fields and have enjoyed a modicum of normality amid the chaos.  It's sad to see so many of our local events cancelled (and the list keeps growing unfortunately), but heartening to see the rest of it survive; luckily our village is currently thriving.  Most importantly, we are all well!  

In an effort to keep things that way, we are continuing to keep the camp site clean and hygienic, following the rules and looking out for each other.  This week we have also gained our new Covid QR code, to use with the new Covid-19 app.  You are encouraged to download this to your phone (unless it is a wonderfully-traditional phone that has no idea what an app is..!) and use it during your daily travels. 

We continue to take bookings (up to ten days in advance) for the campsite.  Booking is essential but we are open for the remainder of the year, unless a very wet season means the ground is too wet to support our campers.  Come and enjoy the glory of Exmoor in the Autumn, it really is a very special and colourful place and we have plenty of left time to explore our surroundings before we need to need to settle down and start writing our Christmas shopping-lists..! (sorry, I just love Christmas, I couldn't resist!). To book please call Phil on 07721 045123, he can check availability and help you make a booking.  

I am delighted to announce an important moment in the history of Sparkhayes campsite.  No not the pandemic - it's card payments!  We are now able to accept debit and credit card payments with our shiny new mobile card reader.  

So far all is going well with our cautious re-opening and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding at this unprecedented time.  The hostelries in Porlock have been welcoming back customers this week and the village has a cheerful air, let's hope the summer season continues well and that we can increase the facilities we have on offer.  Stay safe everyone!