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..!

What a fantastic half term it’s been in Porlock Vale!  There has been SO. MUCH. TO. DO. We’ll all be needing a break during June, right?! Think again, there’s a lot to entice campers both active and restful during the coming month.  Thanks so much to all those who came along to our duck race, it was as usual a really fun day for all ages, with lots of friends meeting up to dream up pun-tastic names for the ducks..!  A great day, during which we raised funds for Porlock Carnival; a highlight of village life to look forward to in September!  We also enjoyed the World Crabbing Championship, held at our pretty harbor of Porlock Weir.  The winners scooped the trophy with around 180 crabs, what an incredible feat. These brilliant photos were taken by MnD Photography, thanks guys!

Looking ahead then we have great news for readers wherever they are in the UK; our beautiful moors, wildlife and customs are to be featured in a four-part series - Johnny Kingdom’s Wild Exmoor.  Starting on Monday, 1 June, at 8.00pm on ITV, these half hour programmes illustrate each of the four seasons.  By the time we reach winter (on 22 June!) Johnny will have reached Porlock and will be joining in with our annual wassail.  It’ll be interesting to see whether the cameras managed to film anything at all, since it was very dark while they were here!  If you don’t know what wassailing is, it’s time to find out… but we’ll save that for another update.

The Porlock Pantomime and Drama Society are planning to delight us on 4-6 June with ‘Are You Being Served’.  The standard of these performances is always second to none and if you’re staying in Porlock this week we urge you to come along, the show starts at 7.30pm on each of the above dates, with a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday.  From what we’ve heard about the rehearsals, it’s going to be a hilarious experience! The doors and bar open half an hour beforehand and tickets (available from Porlock Hardware) are £8 per adult and £5 per under 16.

If you’re staying with us during July, don’t forget Weirfest – the real ale festival at Porlock Weir that showcases extraordinary musical talent from 3-5 July.  A minibus service is available between Porlock village and the Weir, with no admission prices and an all-day barbeque, it’s an event that the locals are looking forward to as much as the visitors.  

Finally (for now) – check out our smart new sign..! 

We were a bit despondent about the forecast, which turned from glorious sunshine to rain last week.  But actually, it’s turned out to be not half as bad as we’d imagined.  This morning’s walk around part of the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate (not half a mile from the camp site) was beautifully sunny and memorable for the incredible farming activity going on (do these farmers ever rest?!) and the variety of wildlife.  The photo shows one of my favourite rolling fields, looking towards Minehead.

Will the going be good for the first Point to Point of the season?! For those who aren’t sure what a Point to Point is, it’s an amateur horse race, much more relaxed than a big race meeting, where the public can get really close to the action and maybe have a flutter, in what is a wonderfully sociable day out.  We are lucky enough to have a fantastic course here at Holnicote.  The horses are trying to qualify for bigger races and there’s always a real mix of talent; some will go on to be champions (but which?!) and this makes the betting all the more interesting, backing an outsider might net you some serious cash if you’re brave enough to put some cash on it.  Either way, it’s a fun experience and takes place this Sunday, 3 May, from 1 or 2pm (you’re advised to get there early to get a parking spot with a good view).  Take a picnic or make use of the refreshments and beer tent.  If you can’t get to this one, there’s another Point to Point here on Saturday 9 May..!

Looking further ahead, Sunday 24 May is the date of our annual Duck Race.  Held here at Sparkhayes Campsite, it’s a much-loved family event that is held to raise funds for the village Carnival.  There’s the chance to name your duck and watch it race in a whole series of races along our carefully built course in the stream, with the hope of winning a small cash prize.  Goodness, I’ve just realized that it means more gambling… oops!

On Thursday 28 May, head to the Bottom Ship at pictureseque Porlock Weir for an evening of traditional sea shanties, a fitting location for such revelry and a pretty walk from the campsite (though you’d certainly need a torch on the way back).  

And if you’re still feeling competitive despite the chance to lose your money at two Point to Points and then the Duck Race, come along to Exmoor’s World Champion Crabbing Competition, again at our pretty harbor, on Sunday 30 May.  All ages are welcome (which is lucky, since I’m itching to have a go), bring your own bucket, line and bait (all available in Porlock and at the Weir) for the chance to win the coveted trophy, which was handmade by Bristol Blue Glass - whose studio at Porlock Weir is well worth a visit. 

Phew, you’ll need to relax in the peaceful surroundings of Sparkhayes after all that excitement.