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 [email protected] 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..!

Oh this weather..!  Am I allowed to swear?!  Eek!  

I feel this is a perfect moment to pay tribute to the loyal and lovely campers who have braved the weather during this past week or two.  The fields have been busy and the atmosphere has been absolutely wonderful, despite the rather damp conditions the holiday spirit has thrived.  We’ve had numerous reports of a thoroughly relaxing time spent here at Sparkhayes, along with new friendships formed, new places explored, new ales sampled, haha!  A definite aid in this unhelpful weather is our covered 'chill-out' area, where you can relax, observe and converse with others.

I had a particularly memorable evening when collecting the camping money last week.  The late afternoon sun was warm (yes, it was a dry afternoon!) and it was conducive to watching the children play with new friends, their imaginations creating all sorts of intriguing things, including a bug hotel.  I was particularly impressed with their ingenuity, using a shoe to transport water for example (sorry mum and dad!).  Wine was offered (thank you Elouise) and food – no I dare not eat up your precious supplies!  Such a relaxing and friendly place to be; four hours later, we finished collecting the camping money.  

What is there to do this week in Porlock Vale (or nearby)?  Too much to list, but I’ll try.  There’s Dunster Country Fair (see previous post) on Wednesday 29 July, there’s an exhibition of Minehead-based photographers at the Beach Hotel in Minehead from 31 July to 12 August (Prints available for purchase. Free admission. Open daily:  11am – 6pm except on the opening night 31 July: 7pm – 10pm).  Then there’s a family fun day at Wimbleball Lake on Saturday 1 August, along with the open day of the Culbone Stone, an ancient standing stone high above us up Porlock Hill.  On Sunday 2 August take your pooch along to Bossington Dog Show and hopefully win a rosette! Then look forward to Porlock Country Fair on Sunday 9 August and, on the same day, the annual Raft Race in Minehead – for those with the stamina it’s possible to do both and make this a hugely entertaining day out! This is just a little flavour of what’s on in the area at the moment.  Email us for more ideas if you’re stuck or, if you’re in the area, pop in to the excellent Porlock Visitor Centre, they’re always full of great ideas.

I can’t finish without sending a HUGE thank you to Justin and Louise Rodden for this incredible picture of a rainbow (I think actually a double rainbow if you look carefully) stretching over Sparkhayes camp site.  The weather might be a little too soggy for our liking but it does have beautifully colourful advantages…