Ada in Porlock

25/03/2026

The next phase of the restoration of the woodland walks at Ada Lovelace's summer home near Porlock has started with a fabulous, hard day of clearing and planting trees to replace those known to have been planted by Ada in the 1840s.

The work will continue with a series of work parties in 2026, where we are looking for volunteers to enjoy time in this wondrous environment, helping to restore the inspiration of the World’s first computer programmer and friend to Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday, and Charles Darwin, Ada Lovelace.

The next work party will be on Saturday, April 25th where there will be opportunities to clear invasive species, uncover more of the “Philosopher’s Walk”, rebuild the dry-stone walling with guidance form our local experts and help rebuild a legacy for a further 200 years of people’s enjoyment as they pass through on the South west Coast Path.

Please get in touch if you would like to join our volunteers.

20/03/2026

A lovely day helping pupils from all five years of St Peter's Church of England First School & Pre School learn what is involved in the world of engineering. Seeing how light and efficient an aircraft can be, a chance to hold part of the UK's World record breaking "Zephyr" aircraft and, of course, put the skills to practical use with some paper aircraft building.

14/03/2026

A privilege and joy to support the wonderful teachers and pupils in The Moorland Federation schools. Congratulations to all the participants and we look forward to seeing your science skills and interest grow over the coming years.

We look to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) interest across all schools in our area so if you would like to know more or help, please get on touch.

13/11/2025

If you want to find out more about our local heroine of science in a fun and entertaining way, look no further.

🎭 𝗔𝗗𝗔, 𝗗𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗬’𝗦 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟?
A production by the Museum Players

📅 𝟳.𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺, 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 & 𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿
📍 𝗗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺

Step back in time with our wonderful Museum Players for a delightful, light-hearted performance exploring the fascinating life of Ada Lovelace — the brilliant mathematician often hailed as the world’s first computer programmer.

Discover Ada’s Porlock connections and meet the extraordinary characters who shaped her remarkable story:

💫 Her notorious father Lord Byron
💐 Her formidable mother Annabella
⚙️ The eccentric inventor Charles Babbage
📚 And even Charles Dickens...

🎟️ 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: £𝟭𝟬 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 (£𝟴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺)
Available from Porlock Home Hardwear and Information Centre

13/11/2025

Wonderful effort by the heads of our great local schools.

Heads up for Air Rescue!

We’re thrilled to announce a very special fundraising challenge!

Three of our Heads of School, Mr James from Dunster First School, Mr Jon Moise-Souch from Langford Budville Primary School, and Mrs Lucy Walker-Blair from St Dubricius First School, in Porlock will be cycling between all of our Moorland Federation schools in a single day!

A whopping 53 miles!!
They’ll be cheered on every pedal of the way by our amazing pupils as they take on this epic route across Exmoor and West Somerset.

Having recently witnessed first-hand the incredible work of the Air Ambulance team in our local area, we wanted give something back, raising awareness and vital funds for this life-saving service that supports so many of our families and communities.
A huge thank you to our three intrepid cyclists.

We’ll be launching our GoFundMe page soon, for anyone wishing to support their efforts. Every donation, large or small, will make a real difference and be so gratefully received, but please only give if you can.

Follow our page for updates on their training, route plans and the big day itself, as well as how each of our schools will be joining in with activities to cheer them on!

https://www.moorlandfed.co.uk/news-articles/heads-up-for-air-rescue

21/10/2025

Please get in touch if you are interested in how we might help your school or if you can support our work supporting STEM in West Somerset.

Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming committee members from Ada in Porlock to Parliament to further discuss their initiative ahead of my speech on Ada Lovelace and promoting women in STEM. 👩‍🔬

A massive thank you to Jeff Cox, Paul Brooks, David Wardrop, and also Rob Schmidt from Greencombe Gardens for travelling up to London! ✅

Lots of exciting opportunities in the pipeline for young people in the Tiverton and Minehead constituency! 🚀

17/10/2025

Thank you to our tireless MP, Rachel Gilmour - Tiverton & Minehead for highlighting the issues and opportunities we are trying to support in West Somerset schools. If you would like to help, contribute or just know a little more, please get in touch.

08/09/2025

Great to host Rachel Gilmour at the Ashley Combe woodland walk where she unveiled our heritage plaque noting Ada Lovelace's life at Ashley Combe, walked the early stages of our recovery of this inspirational area and discussed how we can encourage the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

👋Good morning, Tiverton and Minehead!

✅I hope everyone had a good weekend. Here's a roundup of what I got up to last week as your MP.

📨As always, if you need assistance with an issue or concern, please email [email protected] or book a place at an upcoming constituency surgery here: https://forms.office.com/e/YVQ01NW019

21/08/2025

https://adainporlock.org/standing-room-only-to-hear-the-latest-on-ada-lovelace-in-porlock/

Standing room only to hear the latest on Ada Lovelace in Porlock Aug 21, 2025 | 0 comments Porlock village hall was full to capacity to hear the results of the latest research in to Ada Lovelace’s life and legacy at Ashley Combe in Porlock. Jeff Cox, who is leading the work on the recovery of the ...

03/06/2025

Thank you to everyone who turned out to support our formal launch last week. We hope you enjoyed finding out more about our unique link with Ada Lovelace, the work that is being inspired by her legacy and having the chance to hear more about some of our great local schools and industry.

04/05/2025

Porlock village hall, May 27th

Join Rachel Gilmour, our Member of Parliament, together with local schools and businesses as we launch “Ada in Porlock”, the new initiative which sets out to promote Porlock and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by linking with the legacy of Ada Lovelace, world pioneer of computer programming, and who for many years lived near Porlock Weir.
• Hear about our successful first year of teaming up with the Moorland Federation of primary schools and with Minehead Middle School and discuss our plans for extending this work to more schools in 2026. We also welcome those interested in joining us;
• Learn how two local engineering companies, Singer Instruments and Shearwell Data, have already built outstanding international reputations from their West Somerset bases;
• See how our volunteers working with Exmoor National Parks in the Culbone woods, have opened out the stunning vistas overlooking the Bristol channel and are restoring paths that formed part of the famous “Philosopher’s Walk” at Ada’s home, Ashley Combe, where she and Charles Babbage, the ‘father of the computer’ envisioned a digital world;
• Hear about new research conducted by Bristol University revealing why Ada and her husband William should be credited with creating the first arboretum in the South West of England;
• Be among the first to follow the new ‘Ada Lovelace Walk’, a thirty-minute walking guide to the Porlock that Ada Lovelace would have known.
The launch starts at 10.30 on Tuesday 27 May at Porlock Village Hall. Join us then to hear the full story, or from 11.30 to meet and chat with the Ada in Porlock volunteers and representatives from Exmoor National Parks, local schools, Singer Instruments, Shearwell Data and Bristol University.