Good morning, Mendips! Wells Cathedral has been crowned the most beautiful building in Britain (we're not surprised), a 50,000-year-old rhino skull is on show in the city, and Shoemakers Museum is getting properly spooky for half-term. Bring a brolly, and maybe a hat with a chin strap. Read on . . . .
Featured Event: Spooktacular Halloween at Shoemakers
Half-term has a spooky side at Shoemakers Museum in Street. From Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm each day, the museum goes "family-friendly but ever so spooky". There's a drop-in gallery trail running all week: solve the clues to help find the owners of the shoes in the Museum of Lost Shoes.
Special sessions come on top. Storytelling is on Monday 26 October at 11am and 2pm, drop-in and free with a museum pass, and costumes are welcome. On Wednesday 28 October there's Puppet Making (10.30am to 12.30pm), where children build a spooky friend to take home, at £3.50 or £4.50 a child depending on whether you hold an annual pass. On Friday 30 October the Build a Lantern Workshop (10.30am to 12.30pm) costs £4 to £6 a child, with adults free. Both workshops need booking.
The grand finale is Museum After Dark on Friday 30 October: timed, bookable sessions with a torchlit trail, clues and costumed characters. Check the museum's website for session times and prices before you book.
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🏛️ Wells Cathedral Named Britain's Most Beautiful Building
Time Out has named Wells Cathedral the most beautiful building in the UK, and fifth on its overall list of the country's most beautiful places. Writer Amy Houghton singled out the medieval scissor arches, which still look strikingly modern, along with the astronomical clock, the painted ceiling and some of the finest 14th-century stained glass in Europe. The scissor arches were added in the 1340s to hold up the central tower after cracks appeared. The cathedral has welcomed the praise and invited visitors to share their photos.
🦏 A 50,000-Year-Old Woolly Rhino Skull Is On Show In Wells
A woolly rhinoceros skull, thought to be 40,000 to 50,000 years old, is now on display at the Wells and Mendip Museum. Cavers found animal remains in Quarter Way Up Hole, a small cave near Fairy Cave Quarry, and cave archaeologist Vince Simmonds recovered the 75cm skull in February 2025. Professor Danielle Schreve of the University of Bristol says it belonged to a large male of about 40 that probably fell into the cave. Museum curator David Walker called it "absolutely incredible". The museum, at 8 Cathedral Green, is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
🌷 Glastonbury Strikes Gold In Britain In Bloom
Glastonbury in Bloom won Gold in the Town category at the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Finals, announced at a ceremony in Rochdale on Tuesday 20 October. Fellow Somerset town Portishead took Gold in the Coastal category. The overall winner was Stonehouse in Bloom, near Stroud, from 44 groups across eight categories. Well done to the volunteers who keep the Glastonbury flowerbeds blooming.
Glastonbury: police issue CCTV appeal following pub assault. On 19 October, police released an image of a man they want to identify after a staff member was assaulted at the George and Pilgrim at 9.40pm on 2 October. Witnesses should contact 101 quoting 5226282887.
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The Haystack That Isn't a Haystack
Drive across the green at Priddy and you'll pass what looks like a tiny thatched cottage that has forgotten to have any walls. Visitors take it for a haystack, a bus shelter or a very rustic art installation. It's none of these. It's a pile of sheep hurdles, about 130 of them, cut from ash, stacked up and given a roof.
For centuries those hurdles penned the sheep at Priddy Fair. Tradition says the fair moved up the hill from Wells in 1348, when the city was in the grip of the Black Death, though there's evidence of a fair at Priddy even earlier. It grew into one of the great events of the Mendip year. In 1352 it was chosen as the first place in Somerset to read out the new Weights and Measures Act, telling dealers to throw away their own private measuring rods.
It wasn't all paperwork. Old-timers remembered half a bullock roasting on a spit, the green covered with young horses, and dealers so keen that they met buyers as far out as Hunters' Lodge. One old advertisement promised that "he that breaketh most heads" at single-stick fighting "shall receive a gold guinea, a three cornered hat and a gold button".
Then there's the legend. It has been said that if the hurdles weren't left on the green from one fair to the next, the lord of the manor could refuse the right to hold it. Today villagers put it more broadly: as long as the stack stands, Priddy keeps the right to hold its events on the green. The stack has been rebuilt whenever the wood rotted. Metal hurdles took over the actual penning just after the Second World War.
Now the twist. In April 2013 someone set fire to the stack. Within three months volunteers had rebuilt it, thatched this time with longer-lasting reed. That August the sheep fair went ahead, and it turned out to be the last. The 2014 fair was called off as "organisationally and financially unsustainable", partly because road closures that had always been free would now cost £1,000. The fair hasn't been held since.
The legend, at least, has kept its side of the bargain. The green is still busy every summer with the Priddy Folk Festival, and its logo is the hurdle stack.
Over to you: Did you ever go to Priddy Sheep Fair? Hit reply and send us your memories, or your photos.
Thursday 22 October
Wells Festival of Literature — Cedars Hall, Wells. Three sessions today: Amy Jeffs: Arthur: A New Life (4.15pm), Gavin Francis: The Unfragile Mind (6pm) and Oliver Bullough: Everybody Loves Our Dollars (7.45pm). Ticketed.
Shepton Mallet Prison Halloween Tours — 6.30pm, Shepton Mallet Prison. Ninety-minute after-dark guided tours, on Thursdays in October plus 27, 28 and 30 October and 1 November. £30. More info
Chantel McGregor — 7pm, The Tree House, Cheese & Grain, Frome. The blues-rock guitarist who toured the UK with Joe Bonamassa early in her career. £20 advance plus fee. 18+, standing. Booking
Beth Calverley: Landscapes of Connection — 7.30pm, Chew Valley Library, Bishop Sutton. An evening of nature, poetry and connection with Chew Valley-raised poet Beth Calverley. Free, booking required. Booking
Simeon Walker: Lunchtime Concert — Glastonbury (venue is on the ticket listing). Pianist and composer Simeon Walker plays intimate contemporary-classical, jazz and ambient piano. Free entry. More info
Rameagle + Vertigo — The King Arthur, Glastonbury. Psychedelic rock from Rameagle, opened by Vertigo. Free entry. More info
Friday 23 October
Wells Festival of Literature — Cedars Hall. Four sessions today: Kate Williams: Regina (2pm), Rebecca Seal: Irritated (4.15pm), Dan Cruickshank: The English House (6pm) and Andrea Wulf: The Traveller (7.45pm). Ticketed.
Spooktacular Halloween at Shoemakers — 10am to 4pm, Shoemakers Museum, Street. Starts today and runs to 1 November: gallery trail, storytelling, workshops and more (see Featured Event above). Free with museum entry; some activities ticketed at £3.50 to £6. More info
Max Milligan: Around The World In 40 Years — Upton Noble Village Hall. An illustrated talk by photographer Max Milligan, a fundraiser for the Friends of St Mary Magdalene. £15 including a complimentary drink. The ticket page doesn't give a start time, so check before you set off. Booking
Northcote + Tom Jenkins — 7pm, The Tree House, Cheese & Grain, Frome. Canadian folk-punk songwriter Matt Goud (Northcote), who has toured with Frank Turner, with Welsh support. £15 advance plus fee. 18+, standing. Booking
Attila the Stockbroker — 7.30pm, Cheese & Grain Cafe Bar, Frome. Punk poet and singer-songwriter, 44 years and 4,000 gigs in. £12 advance plus fee. Seated. Booking
Moscow Drug Club — 7.30pm, The Old School Rooms, Chew Magna. Jazz, French musette, Latin grooves and New Orleans swing, part of the Valley Arts Fringe Festival. Ages 14+. Ticketed. Booking
Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years — 7.30pm, Strode Theatre, Street. Tribute show from duo Bookends. £22. Booking
Fallen Angels — 7.45pm, Strode Theatre Studio. Filmed-live screening of the Broadway production of Noël Coward's comedy, starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O'Hara. Today and tomorrow. £14.70 to £16.70. Booking
The Charlie Miller Band — The King Arthur, Glastonbury. Funk and soul from the town's longest-running funk and soul band. More info
Accidental Jazz Orchestra — The Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury. A night of dance and celebration. More info
Music Bingo — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Four games with artists and song titles instead of numbers. Free entry. More info
Saturday 24 October
Wells Festival of Literature — Cedars Hall. The big finale, six sessions: Ping Coombes: Rice (10.30am), Nicholas Crane: The Path More Travelled (12.15pm), Lady Hale: With the Law on Our Side (2pm), Cathy Rentzenbrink: The Agatha Christie Cure (3.45pm), Blake Morrison: On Memoir (5.30pm) and Maggie Aderin: Starchild (7.15pm). Ticketed.
Samhain & The Glastonbury Dragons Wild Hunt — Glastonbury town centre. The annual Samhain procession, one of the main events in the town's calendar. Times aren't on the listing, so check the information centre page. More info
Street Repair Cafe — 10am to 12 noon, Quaker Meeting House, Street. Bring broken things and volunteer fixers will have a go. Free, on the fourth Saturday of the month. Contact
Half-Term Geological Event — from 11am, Somerset Earth Science Centre, Moons Hill Quarry, Stoke St Michael. Part of Mendip Rocks. Free, no booking needed. More info
Guided Tree Walk with Matt Witt — 11am to 12.30pm, Glastonbury Abbey. A guided walk through the Abbey's trees. Included with admission, free for members. More info
Apple Day — Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. Apple-themed crafts, games and family activities, included with museum admission. No start time listed. More info
Grease Film Singalong — 6.30pm to 10pm, Oakhill Chapel. A fundraiser for Youth With A Future, which supports homeless 16 to 25 year olds in the Mendips. £10 a seat, cash on the door, seats limited: reserve on 07504 758263. More info
SpiralS October — 8pm, The Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury. DJs Cyberg, SMI-FI and Jim Jam, with UV decor and lasers. £10 on the door. More info
Dub Catalyst — The King Arthur, Glastonbury. Eleven-piece reggae, dub and hip-hop band. More info
Sound of the Sirens — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Exeter folk duo Abbe Martin and Hannah Wood. Free entry, reserving a table is recommended. More info
Northern Soul Night — Royal British Legion, Street. Northern soul on vinyl from DJs, all night on the dancefloor. More info
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
Thursday 22 October: Street Fighter [12A] 4.30pm and 7.30pm · Forgotten Island [PG] 4.30pm · Sense and Sensibility [U] 3pm (tea matinee) · The Social Reckoning [15] 7pm · Heart of the Beast [12A] 7.30pm
Friday 23 to Thursday 29 October: Wildwood [12A] 7pm Friday, then 4.30pm and 7pm Saturday to Thursday
Forgotten Island [PG] 4.30pm Friday, then 2pm and 4.30pm Saturday to Thursday
Klara and the Sun [12A] 7.30pm daily
Street Fighter [12A] 4.30pm and 7.30pm daily
Tad and the Magic Lamp [U] 4.30pm Friday, then 2pm Saturday to Thursday
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom [U] 1.30pm Saturday to Thursday
🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October
It's a wet and windy few days. Thursday brings rain, with temperatures of 9 to 13°C. Friday is the one to watch: a weather warning for strong winds covers much of Somerset from midnight until noon, with gusts forecast up to 68mph, and showers through the day. Saturday is mild at 9 to 15°C with some rain, and Sunday is the best of the bunch, 12 to 16°C with the rain clearing later. We don't have a forecast for Monday yet. Check the BBC link below before you set off.
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