Next Sunday - Porlock Country Fair and Show

We have had a busy week with our bed and breakfast guests and working in the garden. Derek has finished landscaping the steps and the wall and so we spent a day at Otter Nurseries selecting plants to fill the new bed, a couple of chairs for the veranda plus a very handsome stone toad that my sister had previously taken a fancy to. However, I have to confess he looks so at home on our wall, I think he is going to have to stay with us, so another trip to the nurseries is on the cards!

The other new beds look as if they have always been there and the plants have taken really well. We have a lot of roses in the garden and they have been fantastic this year so we are always dead heading. The warm weather has meant that Derek is always cutting or about to cut the lawn but it really looks lovely.

We had friends from East Devon come up for the day yesterday. We met Sue and Ray at The Royal Oak in Winsford where we had a excellent lunch and then walked along by the river at Larcombe Foot. Later on we drove back to The Dunkery Beacon for tea - it was a lovely day – impromptu and relaxed, just catching up with news of families and friends.

Derek was out walking on Monday evening over by Codsend Moor where he found a one week old deer calf. He was nestled right into the grass and could hardly be seen and for once, Derek had his camera so he has got some great photos to put into the album. Derek has just this minute come back from near Hindon Farm where he has been watching 8 big stags grazing in a field of roots (don’t expect that the farmer is too happy)!

We had a couple of very keen cyclists staying with us this week for bed and breakfast. Most of the time, they cycled from The Dunkery Beacon and covered a lot of miles. Some new cycle routes have been opened up in the Crown Estate forests behind Dunster castle. Sonja and Tristan explored these together with a trip over to Porlock and back over the moor via the Doone Valley plus an excursion over to Exford, Winsford and beyond coming home each day tired but very happy!

Another couple are revisiting their childhood memories and catching up on relations they haven’t seen for many years. So many people we have met have associations with this beautiful area and look forward to coming back time and again.

Next Sunday is Porlock Country Fair and Show. This is a lovely day out in a beautiful setting and it includes crafts, local produce, a variety of demonstrations including archery and falconry (hopefully the falconry will be positioned a little way from the archery)! Here is a dog show, family fun, games plus a beer tent and cream teas – something for everyone!