We would like to extend our warmest wishes to all our members for a positive, successful, and profitable 2026. While we have been experiencing seemingly endless days of rain, it is important to remember that brighter days are just around the corner. In only a couple of months, Easter weekend will arrive, bringing longer days and increased activity to our community. Let us look forward to a busy and rewarding season ahead together.
Our team have been busy over recent months and there is a lot to share with you. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Exmoor Explorer Bus
After strong feedback about the Exmoor Coaster (now Exmoor Explorer) bus, First Bus responded quickly, promising to consider your concerns. Several local councils and MP Rachel Gilmour have also supported our call for a comprehensive Open Top bus service. We will keep you informed of updates.
Social media update
Porlock Information Centre’s social media has seen strong engagement, with one recent Facebook post reaching 63,000 people—excluding Instagram, TikTok, and website stats. This highlights the influence of social media, even though it’s not our main focus. Your membership fee helps to support our efforts to promote Porlock Vale, as well as actively promoting your business.
Our digital media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and the Porlock.co.uk website reached 2.9 million people in 2025. This is a great result for Porlock Vale and effectively is free advertising, apart from the Centre staff costs to keep Porlock Vale in the spotlight.
New Members
We are delighted to welcome Simpson Law to our membership portfolio. They are a new business based in West Porlock, but not new to West Somerset. Please do check their full details where they specialise in wills, estate administration, powers of attorney, trusts, succession and tax planning.
Information Centre
Thanks to National Lottery Awards For All funding, we can now open six days a week this winter. Despite recent wet weather, we continue to welcome visitors, with our community making up the majority of footfall during these quiet months.
Porlock Marsh Leaflets
We are hopeful that Exmoor National Park Authority will be producing an updated Porlock Marsh leaflet for the 2026 season. We give away thousands of these leaflets each year and we look forward to receiving the new leaflets for 2026.
Community Café and Hostel Accommodation Update
We have appointed an architect to help secure full planning consent for the Community café and planned hostel for walkers. We will consult with our stakeholders and the community throughout this process to create a unique space in Porlock Vale, including a Miles Museum, coffee-roasting demonstrations, and continued services for tourists and residents. Once we have concrete plans, we’ll hold an event to share them, answer questions, and seek your support for this collaboration between Miles Tea & Coffee and Porlock Vale CIC. If successful, these plans will greatly enhance both tourism and local services in Porlock.
We enjoyed showing Rachel Gilmour MP around Vale Yard recently, and she was very supportive and enthused by the possibilities which the Community Café and hostel accommodation will offer. Somerset Community Foundation team also visited to continue to offer us their support for the project and to see how it links with our Accelerating Reform Fund plans.
We continue to be invited to give talks on the Miles / PVCIC collaboration, as we are learning that this type of collaboration is unusual and is now being held as an example of how not-for-profit organisations can have an opportunity to be financially sustainable, as grant funding for operating costs are diminishing rapidly.
Events
The wonderful and popular Tin Giants return for a third year to perform a fund-raising concert for the Information Centre. Please do join us to hear this semi-professional band who travel from far places to come and play here in Porlock! The date for their concert at Porlock Village Hall is Saturday 25th April at 7.30 p.m. Details and tickets available from Porlock Information Centre.
Our Open gardens event is planned for 16th / 17th May 2026 and this is our main annual fund-raiser. We know that many visitors come especially to come and see the always lovely Porlock gardens and we might just have a secret guest joining us in Porlock that weekend!
We anticipate that our Hidden Porlock walks will take place from Easter, which we run jointly with CareMoor, Exmoor. Full details will be published soon. We will be arranging other walks around Porlock throughout the warmer months. These will be new walks and we hope that many people will find them interesting.
West Somerset Radio
We are very excited to hear that West Somerset Radio returns to the airwaves. This is a popular local radio station, which has been missed very much over the last year or so. Valiant efforts by a dedicated team of volunteers will see the return of our local radio station. Porlock Information Centre has been invited to present an hour-long programme each week, highlighting anything and everything which we would like to about Porlock Vale. We see this as another fantastic opportunity to promote you, our paying members.
The photos on here are courtesy of Exmoor Commons on Flickr, and are provided with thanks by Nigel Stone, Neville Stanikik and the ENPA.
