On Friday, we ventured out in the rain to see the Wells Carnival. It’s an annual affair, but we haven’t been there since 2019 (see HERE for the pictures). This was our first post-COVID Carnival.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Carnival is a fundraising event for local charities, run by volunteers who work together in Carnival Clubs. People are poorer now than they were in 2019 (well, except for the UK billionaires, who are more numerous and much wealthier than they were then), and I wondered if people would have the energy or the funds to put the Carnival Carts together. The weather wasn’t on our side either; Storm Claudia was blowing in, with floods being predicted. 

Still, this was Somerset, so everyone got out their rain gear and came to the Carnival anyway. We went out to a restaurant for an early dinner with friends, and by the time we’d finished, the rain had (mostly) stopped.

We found a spot against the walls of the Cathedral grounds where we could watch the Carts (big, two-story-tall floats, pulled by a tractor) come around a corner. 

We stood for a little over two hours watching the Carts and the pedestrian performers go by. The atmosphere was friendly and upbeat, despite the cold and the wet. I loved seeing the passion of the Carnival Club members. They’d obviously spent many hours on the carts. They gave the evening their all, as did the support staff who kept everyone safe.

Anyway, here are some photographs to give you an impression of the evening. Just let yourself imagine each Cart pumping out very loud music while the people and the Cart dressings moved continuously.