Such talent and effort goes into the running of the great Somerset Winter Carnival – and so few of us have ever even heard of it! Read on to hear about my fantastic weekend exploring rural Somerset, the Winter Carnival and the mysterious town of Glastonbury.
Carnival season in the rural West Country is something very little of us know much about. Nestled in the heart of the Somerset countryside, winding its way through exquisite little towns and villages is one of the UK’s most spectacular Winter experiences around… a brightly lit procession of moving, breathing, living giants. Complete with live performers and blasting music as they make their way up tiny village streets, the themed floats are extraordinarily imaginative, each one designed by respective carnival clubs of the local area which compete to win prizes. Every year hundreds of thousands of people descend on Somerset to watch this unique and awe inspiring show, thousands of hours of volunteer work going into the design and performances to make it what it is today.
A bit of history…
I was 12 years old the first time I was brought to Glastonbury to see the Winter carnival. My mum, who had grown up around this part of the world (combine harvesters and cider arrr), was long acquainted with going to see the carnival each year as a child – amazingly it has been going strong since the 1970’s with at least one club being founded in 1952! Me and my younger sister were brought to experience it and we were blown away by the sheer enormity and individuality of the event. This year as adults we planned a group trip with friends to relive those memories and visit the spiritual town of Glastonbury and all its weird-ness…
A place to stay
The highlight of our trip as planned was of course the carnival procession, which for most of the group it was their first time witnessing, and none of our prior descriptions could match the real thing. But a close second was the fantastic hostel in which we stayed for the weekend. Mendip Bunkhouse is such a hidden gem, nestled away in the Mendip hills near Shepton Mallet it was about a 20 minute drive from Glastonbury so perfect location for us carnival goers – if you fancy a walk it’s about four hours by foot but we took cars to avoid walking back in the darkness. Alternatively, you could visit the Carnival when it comes to the town of Shepton Mallet, which is only a few miles away from the bunkhouse.
Being an avid hosteller, I know what to look out for that makes a hostel special and this place has it all: plentiful comfy beds, enormous kitchen to cater for big groups, solid supply of area maps, board games and reading material, and a cosy common area with log burner and comfy sofas. We made a huge vegetable and chickpea curry to feed all 13 of us for the first night, and had a lovely cosy evening chatting and catching up around the fireplace. Penny, one of the members of our party said this: “The bunkhouse was so much better than expected – considering how inexpensive it was. It was warm, spacious, brilliantly equipped and the powerful hot showers were better than mine at home. Best of all were the funny signs dotted around the place”. By chance, we had the bunkhouse completely to ourselves which made it such a nice and intimate get-away. You can tell it is such a well-loved and looked after facility, it has been carefully maintained by the Cerberus Speleological Society and serves as their headquarters for group meetups and caving trips in the area.
Experiencing Glastonbury town and tor
Saturday came around and after many cups of teas we made our way over to Glastonbury for a day of shopping, wandering and climbing the tor before the start of the Winter Carnival. It’s always been one of my favourite places to visit on account of its magical atmosphere and the interesting characters that wander its pavements, the witchy shops hosting all manners of glittery crystals and incense smoke trickling out onto to the street.
A necessary trip up Glastonbury Tor is the cherry on top of the cake if you are visiting! As the legendary Isle of Avalon it is famed to be where King Arthur came to rest after being injured in the battle of Camlann, and since has become a symbol of Arthurian mythology and intrigue. You can see for miles from the top, all across the Somerset levels – it really is a must when doing the Glastonbury experience.
This is what Bronia had to say about the Tor:
“Glastonbury Tor looks as though it was plucked from a fairy tale. It stands majestically above the town and just one glimpse of it from the car window made my feet itch to climb it. Although the sides of the Tor are steep, it is a fairly easy ascent. From the top, the view of Glastonbury town and the panoramic landscape of acres upon acres of farmland was gorgeous! We drank in the moment and honoured the spirit of Glastonbury by doing some yoga on the Tor. As with everywhere in Glastonbury, the bohemian locals were up to something quirky! They had dragged large instruments to the top of the Tor! Atmospheric bongo and didgeridoo music floated from the tower which was the perfect soundscape to watch the sunset before making our descent. I love Glastonbury Tor!”
The Winter Carnival
A hearty meal in the ancient George and Pilgrim pub set us up for an evening of excitement as the carnival began – we do recommend booking a table though as there was a high demand for service and also for seating – it’s crowded on the streets and a long evening of standing if your knees are not up for it! I noticed a lot of the regular visitors bring their own camp chairs, which is a smart idea when pre-planning. At 7pm the floats started and we watched on as these luminescent, almost psychedelic giants roared up the street, performers energetically dancing on their moving platforms and music booming away.
This was Sam’s take on the carnival procession:
“I can’t believe I had not heard about this carnival before. The scale and intensity is overpowering, as the huge brightly lit floats came through the streets of Glastonbury. The dancing floats whirl with motion and dancing figures, while the tableaus have an eerie stillness with figures froze mid expression. Simply outstanding.”
And this was Julie’s experience:
“Wow best kept secret in the Somerset Levels! The Glastonbury Carnival is a spectacular parade of illuminated carnival floats and amazingly costumed dancers! I was literally speechless! Everyone should experience this wonderful display at least once in their lives. Bloomin marvelous!”
The show lasts for a couple of hours, until the roads can re-open and traffic allowed to move out of the town. We made our way back to Mendip Bunkhouse after a few pints at the pub and were all very happy to get into warm sleeping bags and get some well earned rest after such a busy day.
On reflection
All in all we had an absolutely fantastic weekend, such a quirky and unusual event and superb hostel accomodation- with good company too! We had great fun discussing our favourite parts of the carnival, be it the extravagant themed decor, music, energy of the performers or the moving and dramatic tableu floats. Mendip Bunkhouse was ideal for our group, and can cater up to 33 people (plus camping around the back) if you are interested in taking more. This weekend was just what the doctor ordered and I would recommend it as an experience to anyone!
