Somerset Illuminated Carnival

As a child growing up in Somerset I can remember the darker Autumn nights heralding something special and magical arriving on the streets of quiet markets towns across the county, giant floats built over a year by enthusiastic carnival clubs based all over Somerset coming together to illuminate the dark rural market town streets with their fantastical creations.

I even took part in one such parade when I was little, dressed as an elephant, a proud moment for my parents I am sure but probably something at the time that left me a little bewildered.

Have moved to Hampshire over 20 years ago now it has been an incredibly long time since I saw one of these illuminated carnival parades so with the Autumn drawing in I decided to take my wife down to Somerset on a dry evening to experience something she had never had the pleasure to see and enjoy.

So there we stood, on a chilly roadside with hundreds of other expectant spectators waiting for the most spectacular carnival floats to appear amid the seas of majorettes, marching bands and individual performers and commercial vehicles of the show sponsors, an enjoyable evening filled with loud music, bright lights and amateur performers.