Issue #33 | Wednesday 29 July 2026

Good morning, Mendips! Somerset Chamber Choir brings Sacred Shadows, Eternal Light — A Leipzig Soundscape to Wells Cathedral this Saturday, while Wells Beer Festival taps into its third year at the Sheep & Penguin and the Glastonbury Goddess Conference keeps Avalon buzzing all week. Elsewhere, Spider-Man swings into Wells Film Centre and we've a couple of quirky crime tales from Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury.

🎶 Sacred Shadows — Somerset Chamber Choir - This week's featured event

Ready for the Buck Moon

📅 What's On This Week — across the Mendips

Vintage Mini Pick-Up Stolen In Shepton Mallet Trading Estate Raids

Stolen Mini Digger Abandoned Near Glastonbury Recovered By Police

Firefighters Urge Picnic Swap As Barbecue Fire Risk Rises

Magique Brings Magic And Illusions To The Mill This Week

🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast

Somerset Chamber Choir returns to Wells Cathedral this Saturday for Sacred Shadows, Eternal Light — A Leipzig Soundscape, an evening of radiant choral music celebrating the composers who lived and worked in the German city, from Bach and Mendelssohn through to Brahms, Clara Schumann and Mahler.

The choir is joined by vocal ensemble The Echoing Air and the Bath Philharmonia, under conductor Andrea Brown, for a programme spanning Bach's Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Mendelssohn's Hear my prayer, Schütz's Musikalische Exequien, Brahms' Schicksalslied and the Urlicht movement from Mahler's 'Resurrection' Symphony.

Somerset Chamber Choir has built a strong reputation across the West Country for concerts of exactly this scale, and the Cathedral's acoustics make it a natural home for an evening built around Leipzig's musical legacy. Doors 7pm.

→ Tickets and full programme at ticketsource.com

Tonight, 29 July, the Mendips get its very own headline act in the sky: the Buck Moon. Think of it as July’s encore performance from the cosmos – no tickets, no queues, and the best seats are anywhere you can see the horizon.

Astronomically, the Buck Moon is simply July’s full moon – the moment when the Moon sits opposite the Sun and its entire Earth‑facing side is illuminated. To our eyes, that means a bright, almost lantern‑like disc rising in the southeast and cruising across the southern sky through the night.

The name “Buck Moon” comes from North American Indigenous traditions, referring to the time of year when male deer grow fresh antlers, pushing up in soft, velvety spikes that will soon become full crowns. It’s a seasonal marker, a reminder that we’re firmly in high summer, if you hadn’t noticed!

Of course, being human, we could never leave a full moon as “just a rock reflecting sunlight”. Over centuries, the July full moon has picked up a pocketful of names and stories. “Thunder Moon” links it to summer storms; “Hay Moon” nods to harvest time; and some traditions see this lunation as a moment of growth, strength and renewal – not unlike a celestial progress report.

Modern spiritual and astrological takes cast the Buck Moon as a nudge to shed old habits and step into a “new version” of yourself. Whether you subscribe to that or not, there is something undeniably theatrical about a full moon climbing above the Mendips – as if the landscape itself has dimmed the lights for a show.

If you’ve wondered how class photographers snap those big moon pictures around an ancient monument, here’s how it’s done: The award-winning snap above was taken from several kilometers away, using a 400mm telephoto lens. Zooming right in gives this amazing, disproportionate perspective. It took a lot of planning for timing and angle. I’m afraid your iPhone camera just won’t cut it.

Moonrise tonight will be about 7.56pm so it should be high in the sky by the time it gets dark. You could still snap a tasteful juxtaposition above the Tor or Wells Cathedral.

Pack a tripod for a longer exposure, and don’t get too exposed yourself! It can still cool down dramatically, even in this crazy summer.

Whether you’re moon‑mad, mildly moon‑curious, or just in it for a good Instagram story, the Buck Moon over Glastonbury and Wells is a reminder that the Mendips are at their most magical when the lights go down and the sky takes over.

→ Full listings and booking at Wells Film Centre

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to pack a picnic instead of lighting a barbecue this summer, after a spate of outdoor fires in hot, dry conditions. Moorland, heathland and rural areas across the Mendips are especially vulnerable during National Picnic Month.

Read full story → (Wells Nub News)

A touring magic and illusions show, Magique, comes to The Mill on Wells High Street this Wednesday evening. The show runs from 6:30pm, offering a family-friendly night of tricks and illusions right in the heart of the city.

Details: The Mill, High Street, Wells, Wednesday 29 July, 6:30pm-7:30pm.

A distinctive 1973 green Austin Mini pick-up was stolen during burglaries at four units on the Crowne Trading Estate in Shepton Mallet in the early hours of Wednesday 15 July. Tools and photographic equipment were also taken, and police are appealing for information on the Mini's whereabouts.

Read full story → (Somerset Leveller)

🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 29 July 2026

It's shaping up to be a warm, mostly dry week across Wells and the Mendips, with highs around 27-28°C on Wednesday and Thursday before things ease off slightly. There's a small chance of a light shower on Thursday, but Beer Festival weekend looks set fair with temperatures settling into the low-to-mid twenties.

→ Full 7-day forecast on BBC Weather

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