If anyone had told me just a month ago what life was going to be like today, I would absolutely not have believed them.  We were busy taking bookings for a promising summer, the weather was improving, the days were drawing out and people were planning to pay a much yearned-for visit to Porlock Vale.  Fast forward to late March and all of the above are still true, but now we having to turn customers away in the name of virus control.  It is true that the idea of self-isolating in a beautiful grassy field amid the fresh sea air and tranquil scenery is attractive.  However it is important to keep travel to a minimum, relieve the potential impact on our already stretched local services and protect the unusually high proportion of elderly people in our community.  Did you know that Sparkhayes operates in an area identified as having the oldest population in the country?  You do now!    So we are forced to close and to share the concerns of other local businesses.  But we are really going to miss you!

We will be keeping in touch via this blog and also our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sparkhayes.  If you haven’t already liked our page please do so and keep us amused with news of your self-isolation activities.  At Sparkhayes, the main entertainment will be manning the ride-on mower (or keeping an eye on the sheep!).  Perhaps the Sparkhayes rail project will also gain new momentum, pictures will be available if there is news to report!  For those of you at home with small children, we offer particular sympathy.  If you’re missing out on a family camping trip, perhaps you can set up camp in the living room (or garden if you’re lucky enough to have one) and send us your photos. 

Bookings taken for the immediate future are regretfully cancelled, bookings taken for later in 2020 are under review and will only proceed if government advice is that it is safe to do so.  We will have to wait and see.  If you have any queries about bookings already made please email us at sparkhayes@hotmail.com and we will happily respond as soon as we are able.  Stay healthy and safe at home, keep looking forward to happy future holidays and take good care of yourselves.  With best wishes from the little Sparkhayes team.

What happened to the Sparkhayes blog I hear you ask?  It is ridiculously out of date..!  The answer is that the author’s smallest child reached six months of age and was no longer content to sleep for the majority of the day.  In fact she decided not to sleep for the majority of the night as well.  I entered a phase of life that could easily have been mistaken for tough SAS training; I could now give any recruit a run for their money in the sleep-deprivation test.  For some while, I became a zombie-slave parent to my little brood.  I emerge from my personal apocalypse to discover a world-wide one; the news seems to be filled with nothing but the Coronavirus..!  Thankfully Porlock still feels a long way from the epidemic and the only challenge here at present is the weather.

Believe it or not, we have still had a few hardy souls camping in tents, despite the rain, wind and even snow.  We are taking more and more bookings for the coming season and I too am dreaming of all the things we can do when the weather finally cheers up.  I have already booked a few things, so sympathise with campers who contact us now to book for a visit in mid-summer.  We just ask that if you book in advance, you make a note in your diary to contact us again a month before you arrive, just to confirm that you are indeed still coming. Most customers reply with ‘I’ll definitely be there!’ but a surprising amount can change in a few weeks or months and we don’t want to turn customers away who arrive on spec to a ‘full’ campsite, only to discover that some of those who pre-booked don’t turn up.  This is part of the reason why we resist taking any bookings at all unless for a very large group or if customers require an electric hook-up, but due to their limited number it is even more important to let us know if your plans change.

In other news, those of you who know the local hamlet of Bossington will recognise the bridge over Horner Water, which gives foot access to Hurlstone Point and the beach.  There is a ford here too, but it is used infrequently by farmers and not many others.  Have a look at these pictures, which show how a driver tried to ford the swollen river and had his car washed away, to get stuck under the bridge..!  Thankfully the driver escaped unharmed and the bridge hasn’t suffered any structural issues, but it did make quite a spectacular sight.  These Exmoor streams and rivers are a force to be reckoned with..!

​Please note that two of these photos are not accurate reflections of a) how well a sleep-deprived person actually looks and b) the fields at Sparkhayes, we don’t generally pack tents in as tight as Glastonbury..!  Seeing the height of the Hawkcombe Water though suggests that our duck race would be over in seconds..! 

I am amused to find that the last time I wrote, we were having a scorching time in deepest summer.  We are now plunged into the season of frosts, road-gritters and annoying head colds.  The lanes are made slippery with fallen leaves and the apples are succumbing to the press, producing glorious sweet sticky apple juice that the children guzzle greedily, making sweet sticky cheeks. 

Mr Weaver, Sparkhayes’ proprietor, survived his sixtieth birthday celebration, with most of the village taking part in a very jolly stroll around the three pubs we are blessed with, listening to live music in each and partaking in the liquid refreshments on offer.  A good time was had by all.  As the weather has turned, so Phil has been able to have a rest from the ride-on mower, but we’re all hoping the Porlock rail project will keep him active through the winter.
 
We are now in the midst of half term and looking forward with much excitement to Halloween tomorrow night.  I seem to be one of very few people who never went trick or treating as a child.  I wasn’t too sure about the idea of turning up at stranger’s houses and asking for sweets, I think I was also rather afraid of receiving a trick..!  Maybe my fears weren’t all that irrational, I was shocked to see advice on a recent trip beyond my usual boundaries, which warned children that their sweets might in fact be drugs, given out as some sick kind of trick by deranged individuals. 

Thankfully Porlock is quite the best and safest place to go trick or treating.  Part of the beauty of it is that we don’t actually knock on stranger’s doors, the doors belong to people we have spoken to or at least nodded at almost every day when we pass through the village.  They are people who we have got to know through several years of trick or treating and every Porlock child knows the best houses to go to.  The children are very good at respecting the rules – only knock at doors that are decorated with pumpkins and which look relatively inviting.  The residents that take part are equally good at playing their part, often with incredibly generous and well thought-out treats, funny costumes and bucketfuls of patience.  It has become a treat for me to make the annual excursion and to see the joy it brings.  It’s yet another reason to love this quirky, happy village.

I know many of you will disapprove, but I am typing this while munching a *gasp* mince pie… ssshhh! 

Salutations from Sparkhayes!  The summer holidays are absolutely flying past and they’ve been a whirlwind of fun so far.  We’ve been so blessed with the weather, it very predictably started raining the minute the schools broke up but actually after the scorching heat I personally found the clouds quite welcome, it is easier to zoom about when a little cooler!  The grass has certainly enjoyed a drink and gone from the parched brown back to verdant green.  The usual host of summer activities have marched past in procession, including a very successful (and hot!) Porlock Country Fair.  We are now contemplating what is often the busiest weekend of the year, the August bank holiday. 

We have had numerous enquiries about camping at the end of August so our fields are likely to be full or nearly full, depending on the mood of the weather, so arriving as early as possible is recommended if you’re hoping to camp.  All our electric hook ups have been spoken for and there is a small group of campers waiting for cancellations.  All of this activity has kept Phil on his toes and it doesn’t look as though he’ll get a rest for the foreseeable future! 

As always, I’m promoting Porlock Carnival, which takes place on Saturday 1 September this year.  It’s a brilliant event for all the family and did you know, you’re very welcome to enter it and be a part of the procession, even if you’re visiting from elsewhere?  As well as the large floats there are opportunities for walking entries, individuals and groups, and prizes for the best in each class, so if you have any ideas or would like to join the hilarity in this great community celebration, please do join in.  Find out more, including an entry form, here: www.porlockcarnival.co.uk.  We’ll look forward to seeing you!