Good morning, Mendips! A ghost train is rattling out of Midsomer Norton this Halloween, and we've got the story of the railway that officially died 60 years ago. Tonight blues legend Walter Trout plays Frome, the Wells Festival of Literature opens tomorrow, and close to 20,000 people have just eaten Wells out of house and home.
Let’s get to it . . .
Featured Event: Walter Trout Live at Cheese & Grain
Tonight, Frome's Cheese & Grain plays host to a proper blues-rock heavyweight. Walter Trout brings his 2026 tour to town, with Leoni Jane Kennedy as special guest, and the promoters are calling the evening a masterclass in blues-rock.
Trout has been playing for five decades, first as a guitarist with Canned Heat and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, then as a bandleader in his own right. He also battled back from a liver transplant, which only adds to the sense of occasion. Expect a celebration of that long career, with emotional ballads and rock anthems from Trout and his band.
Doors open at 7pm. Kennedy is due on at around 7.30pm and Trout at around 8.30pm (set times are estimates). Tickets are £33.50 in advance plus booking fee. The minimum age is 10, and under-16s need to be with a grown-up.
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Somerset Growth Hub offers free business support
Somerset Council has launched a new Growth Hub giving businesses of every size and sector a single point of contact for free, impartial support. Funded by central government and working alongside the Business Growth Service, the Hub offers one-to-one guidance to help firms spot opportunities, tackle challenges and draw up a growth plan.
Support covers mentoring, innovation, skills, digital technology, new markets, cost-cutting, net zero and finding finance. More programmes are planned, and firms are encouraged to sign up to the Hub's newsletter.
Government approves B&NES S.E.N.D. reform plan
The Department for Education has approved Bath and North East Somerset's Local SEND Reform Plan. It is designed to give children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities earlier support and make services easier for families to navigate.
Drawn up with families, schools, health services and young people, the plan will strengthen support in mainstream schools, add inclusion bases and recruit more educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. It sits alongside plans for new special schools at Culverhay and Charlton House. Councillor Paul May called the approval "a significant step forward" for local families.
📸 Wells Museum Asks: Who Are The Faces In These Photos?
Wells & Mendip Museum has opened a new photo exhibition, Wells – Then and Now Revisited, and wants your help. Photographer and local historian Caroline Bagias shot the city around the millennium for her book of the same name, and many of the newer pictures have never been shown. Visitors are asked to spot anyone they recognise and help put names to faces. It runs until Saturday 19 December, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and is included in museum admission.
English Lessons from the
Uxbridge English Dictionary
Highlights -
just another name for lampposts
Carbuncle -
what we call my mum's brother due to his obsession with the Atkins diet
Culottes -
spend a lot of your life patiently standing in line
Extraditions -
maypole dancing, bear baiting, cock fighting, that sort of stuff
Plaintiff -
a rather boring argument between two lovers
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A haunted train on a line that died 60 years ago
This Halloween, a train full of ghouls will rattle out of Midsomer Norton station. It's a fitting place for a ghost train. It runs on the Somerset & Dorset, a railway that was officially pronounced dead in 1966.
The S&D ran 105 miles from Bath to Bournemouth, hauling coal, commuters and holidaymakers over the Mendips. At Masbury Summit it reached 811ft, and heavy summer trains needed two engines to get up there. Its fans called it the Swift and Delightful. Everyone else called it the Slow and Dirty.
In November 1965 British Railways announced it would close. A shortage of replacement buses bought a few weeks' grace, but the last regular trains ran on Saturday 5 March 1966. At Evercreech Junction, mourners loaded a coffin into the guard's van. Its card read "The Somerset & Dorset Railway Died Today", while "John Brown's Body" played from a record player in the booking office.
Tucker St. Station, Wells - Photo supplied, Paul Fry - railwells.com
Wells had lost its trains even earlier. By 1870 the city had three stations within a few hundred yards of each other, built by three rival companies. They brought trains from Glastonbury, Witham and Yatton, the last on the "Strawberry Line" through Cheddar. The S&D's Priory Road station closed to passengers in 1951. Tucker Street followed in 1963, and the last freight train passed through in 1969. Today the nearest station is Castle Cary, about ten miles away.
So what's left? Not much. In the 1990s the Wells relief road was laid along the old route, wiping out almost everything that remained. The survivors are an 1870 goods shed, now Grade II listed, a row of five railway cottages, and small marker plinths at each of the three station sites. The old line lives on mainly as the Strawberry Line path.
The Strawberry Line lives on
Elsewhere, the S&D is being clawed back. One of the Winsor Hill tunnels near Shepton Mallet has reopened to walkers, while rare bats have the other. Masbury's 1874 signal box was rescued from ruin and repainted in S&D colours. Midsomer Norton station was only days from demolition when volunteers saved it. They now run trains over a mile of the original line.
Its Halloween weekend begins on Saturday 31 October with "Into the Twilight". The Haunted DMU runs from 2pm and promises the full scare. Sunday 1 November is gentler, with a Wizard's Express for younger passengers. Children in fancy dress travel free.
https://sdjr.co.uk/events/view/halloween-steam-trains
More local railway history at https://railwells.com
Over to you
Did you ever catch a train from Wells, or ride the S&D over Masbury? Do you still have a ticket, photo or memory of Priory Road or Tucker Street? Reply and tell us.
All week (Thu 15 – Mon 19 October)
Wells Festival of Literature — Cedars Hall and other venues in Wells. Opens tomorrow and runs to Saturday 24 October, with 37 sessions. Headliners include Jonathan Dimbleby, Lady Hale, Stephen Sackur, Damien Lewis, Oz Clarke, Kate Williams and Maggie Aderin. Every session in our window is listed under its day below. More info
Wells Art Contemporary — Wells Cathedral. Annual international art show on the theme "For what is time?", with 20 installations across the Cathedral and 100 artworks in the Cloisters. Open Monday to Saturday 9am–4.30pm and Sunday 11am–3pm, until Saturday 7 November. Free to residents of the Bath and Wells diocese. More info
Wells – Then and Now Revisited — Wells & Mendip Museum, Cathedral Green. Photo exhibition by Caroline Bagias, with a call for visitors to name the people pictured. Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, until Saturday 19 December. Included in museum entry (£6 adults, £3 children and students, £12 families). More info
Tom Winter — The Bishop's Palace, Wells. Exhibition running until Saturday 21 November. More info
Thursday 15 October
Walter Trout — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. Our Featured Event above: blues-rock royalty, with special guest Leoni Jane Kennedy. £33.50 in advance plus booking fee. Booking
Symphony Orchestra Concert – Legends and Love Songs — 7pm, Cedars Hall. The Wells Cathedral School Symphony Orchestra play a folk- and story-inspired programme, including Whitacre's Five Hebrew Love Songs and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite. Free, booking needed. Booking
Shepton Mallet Prison Halloween Tours — 6.30pm. Ninety-minute after-dark guided tours of the old prison, £30, running on Thursdays in October. More info
Music for Miniatures — 10.30am, Chew Magna Baptist Chapel, Chew Magna. Relaxed live classical music for babies and toddlers: 45 minutes from professional musicians while little ones dance, cuddle or nap as they please. Ticketed via Valley Arts. Booking
Wells Business Women IN Meet Up — Fosso Lounge. Time and price not stated. More info
More Than Widows Weeds — 7.30pm, The Salvation Army, BA4 5BU. A talk on mourning fashion by Jennifer Parker for the Shepton Mallet History Society. Members £2, non-members £4 (cash preferred). More info
The Immortal Hour – Assembly Rooms Fundraiser — Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury. A listening night of Rutland Boughton's opera The Immortal Hour, with the English Chamber Orchestra vinyl plus Greg Dinunzi's own production recording, raising money for a new stage. By donation. Time not listed. More info
Friday 16 October
Celine Dion by Candlelight — 7.30pm–9.30pm, Wells Cathedral. A candlelit concert of Celine Dion songs. Booking
Freebird: A Tribute to Eva Cassidy — 7.30pm, Strode Theatre, Street. Zoe Lindsay and a live band perform Eva Cassidy's songs, with storytelling in between. Endorsed by Dan Cassidy. £23–£25. Booking
Power Station (followed by Q&A) — 8pm–10.30pm, Draycott Community Cinema, Draycott Memorial Hall, Draycott. A documentary screening followed by a question-and-answer session. £5. Booking
Enchantment: A Festival of Music, Myth, Theatre & Storytelling — Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October, The Modern Theatre of Myth, Glastonbury. A three-day festival of chamber music, storytelling with music, theatre workshops and discussion. Times and prices not listed. More info
Patrick Gale – Love Lane (Wells Festival of Literature) — 6pm–7pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Stephen Sackur – Hard Truth: Ten Investigations That Shook the World and Why They Matter Now (Wells Festival of Literature) — 7.45pm–8.45pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Toddler Explorers: Hunkypunk Pumpkins — 10.30am–11.30am or 1.30pm–2.30pm, Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. A play-and-learn session for 1–3 year olds and their carers: a story, pumpkin decorating, museum objects and crafts. £7 a session, booking required. Booking
The Good Afternoon Choir – Autumn Concert — 7pm–9pm, Wells (venue per the flyer). A charity concert. More info
Magic: The Gathering – Friday Night Commander — 7pm–11pm, Wells Foodbank and Furniture Storehouse Project. A card-game night. More info
Comedy Night — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Free entry; reserving a table is recommended. More info
Saturday 17 October
October Glastonbury Faerie Ball + Weekend Fayre — Saturday and Sunday, Glastonbury Town Hall. Karen Kay's Faery Events weekend: a free daytime fayre, plus the ticketed Green Women's Faerie Ball (18+, non-refundable; Green Men welcome). Booking
The Big Southwest Wedding Fair — Saturday and Sunday, Showering Pavilion, Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. More than 80 wedding professionals from across the South West, with catwalk displays and live entertainment. Price not stated. More info
Coldplay by Candlelight — 7.30pm–9.30pm, Wells Cathedral. A candlelit concert of Coldplay songs. Booking
Macbeth (MET Opera) — 6pm, Strode Theatre. Verdi's take on the Shakespeare tragedy, screened from New York's Metropolitan Opera. Booking
Katja Hoyer – Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe (Wells Festival of Literature) — 10.30am–11.30am, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Adrian Wooldridge – Centrists of the World Unite: The Lost Genius of Liberalism (Wells Festival of Literature) — 12.15pm–1.15pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Louisa Young – The Golden Hours (Wells Festival of Literature) — 2pm–3pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Jess Venner – The Lost Voices of Pompeii: The Final Day in Seven Lives (Wells Festival of Literature) — 3.45pm–4.45pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Martin Sixsmith – Despots: How Trump is turning America into Putin's Russia (Wells Festival of Literature) — 7.15pm–8.15pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Biker Down Motorcycle Safety Workshop — 9.30am–1.30pm, Wells Fire Station, Burcott Road. Free crash first-aid course for bikers; book via Eventbrite. More info
Autumn Skincare – Perfumes, Soaps and Balms Workshop — 10am–5pm, Abbey House, Glastonbury Abbey. £135. Booking
Brian Froud's Green Women Talk and Meditation — 12pm–1.15pm, Glastonbury Town Hall (upstairs). Ticketed, maximum two tickets per booking. Booking
Introduction to Embroidery – Flowercup — Heritage Courtyard Gallery and Studios, Sadler Street, Wells. All materials included, £65. Time not listed. Booking
Half a Shanty (with The Piccolo Box pizza) — 4pm–6pm, Caryford Hall, Maggs Lane, Ansford, Castle Cary. Lively sing-alongs of classic sea-faring tunes from the local shanty group, with fresh stone-baked pizza from The Piccolo Box. £5. More info
Stand Up to Cancer Music Quiz — 7pm, Tramways, West Street, Wells. £5 a person, teams of up to six; booking essential (Sally Morgan, 0797 552 9950). More info
Straighten Out (Stranglers tribute) – Live at The Tree House — 7pm, The Tree House. Booking
Damh the Bard — 7.30pm, Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury. More info
Fly Yeti Fly — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Free entry; reserving a table is recommended. More info
Sunday 18 October
Not Now Bernard — 2.30pm, St Andrew's Church Hall, Chew Magna. Roustabout Theatre's physical-theatre version of David McKee's picture book, with live music from instruments and household objects, an enormous purple monster and integrated Makaton. It lasts 60 minutes, and a free children's workshop runs beforehand at 1pm (reserve when booking). Ticketed via Valley Arts. Booking
Faerie Ball + Weekend Fayre and The Big Southwest Wedding Fair both run on day two — see Saturday for the full write-ups. Enchantment reaches its final day too (see Friday).
Martin Gayford – My Heart is This: Tracey Emin on Painting (Wells Festival of Literature) — 12pm–1pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Rachel Seiffert – Once the Deed is Done (Wells Festival of Literature) — 2.30pm–3.30pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Richard Elwes – Huge Numbers: A Story of Counting Ambitiously (Wells Festival of Literature) — 4.15pm–5.15pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Rory Cormac – Fakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line (Wells Festival of Literature) — 6pm–7pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Wells Literary Quiz – Brainstorming bookworms (Wells Festival of Literature) — 7.45pm–9.45pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Wells City Band at Croscombe Village Hall — 2.30pm–5pm, Croscombe. An afternoon brass band concert. More info
Monday 19 October
International Competitions – Prize Giving and Poetry Readings (Wells Festival of Literature) — 2pm–5pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Damien Lewis – Behind Enemy Lines: The Special Forces Heroes Who Changed the Course of World War Two (Wells Festival of Literature) — 6pm–7pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Peter Ormerod – David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God (Wells Festival of Literature) — 7.45pm–8.45pm, Cedars Hall. Ticketed. Booking
Halloween Showcase 2026 — Strode Theatre. Music, theatre and spooky surprises from the Strode College Performing Arts Academy. Time not listed. Booking
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of Thursday 15 October
Today should be the mildest day of the week, with highs around 19°C and only a small chance of showers. It turns cooler from Friday, and by the weekend overnight lows dip to around 4°C or 5°C, but Saturday is looking dry and rain chances stay low through to Monday. Wrap up warm for the evening events.
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