What's on around Glastonbury, month by month
There is always something happening within a short drive of Hunter's Moon, from ancient rituals on the Tor to the world's most famous music festival. Use this calendar to plan your stay around it, or to avoid the busy weeks. Dates change from year to year, so check the organisers' websites before you travel.
| Month | Events |
|---|---|
| January | Wassailing in the cider orchards (blessing the apple trees with cider, song and noise), usually around Twelfth Night and Old Twelvey Night on 17 January; starling murmurations at their peak on the Avalon Marshes; the winter sales in Bath and Clarks Village. |
| February | Imbolc celebrations in Glastonbury; Bath Bach Festival; snowdrops at East Lambrook and the Bishop's Palace; half-term at Wookey Hole and Longleat. |
| March | Spring equinox gatherings on the Tor; Bath Comedy Festival; the first lambs on Pennard Hill; daffodils at Stourhead. |
| April | Easter at the Abbey and the East Somerset Railway; Wells Theatre Festival; blossom in the cider orchards around West Bradley and Baltonsborough. |
| May | Beltane on May Day, Glastonbury's biggest pagan celebration with a procession through the town and dancing on Chalice Hill; the wisteria in flower on the front of Hunter's Moon; the Bath Festival; Glastonbury Abbey's May Fayre; bluebells in the woods. |
| June | The Royal Bath & West Show at Shepton Mallet in the first week, England's biggest agricultural show with the national cheese and cider awards; Glastonbury Festival at Pilton in the last full weekend (book the cottage a year ahead); the summer solstice on the Tor at dawn; the Glastonbury Pilgrimage; large blue butterflies on Collard Hill. |
| July | Frome Festival, ten days of music, theatre and art; the Goddess Conference in Glastonbury; Wells Comedy Festival; village fetes and cricket; Somerset's coast at its best. |
| August | Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, a big-name concert in the Abbey grounds; the Mid-Somerset Show at Shepton Mallet; Yeovilton Air Day at the Fleet Air Arm's home base; the Perseid meteor shower over the garden. |
| September | The Pilton Party, Glastonbury Festival's thank-you gig at Worthy Farm; Somerset Art Weeks begin; the cider harvest and pressing start at the farms; the Frome Cheese Show; Heritage Open Days at churches and houses normally closed. |
| October | Wells Food Festival on a Sunday in mid-October; the Wells Festival of Literature; the hunter's moon itself, the full moon after the harvest moon, rising huge over the Levels; Exmoor Dark Skies Festival; autumn colour at Stourhead; Samhain and Halloween in Glastonbury. |
| November | The Somerset illuminated carnivals: Wells on the Friday and Glastonbury on the Saturday in the third week of November, with Shepton Mallet the following week, among the largest processions of their kind in the world; Glastonbury Frost Fayre on the High Street in late November with the switching on of the lights; Longleat Festival of Light opens; Bath Christmas Market opens. |
| December | The cutting of the Glastonbury Holy Thorn for the King; carols at Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Abbey; Santa Specials on the East Somerset Railway; the winter solstice on the Tor; Christmas and New Year at Hunter's Moon (see our Christmas page); the Geminid meteor shower. |
Regular events
- Glastonbury markets: Tuesday food market, Thursday street market, farmers' market every fourth Saturday
- Wells market: Wednesday and Saturday in the Market Place
- Frome Independent: the first Sunday of the month, March to December
- Choral evensong at Wells Cathedral: most days at 5.15pm, free
- Live music: most nights at the King Arthur in Glastonbury; see arts and live music
- Wincanton Racecourse: National Hunt racing from October to May, twenty minutes away
- Bath & West Showground: shows, fairs and markets most weekends of the year
Busy weeks
The area is at its busiest during Glastonbury Festival week in late June, when the roads around Pilton are closed and accommodation is booked far ahead, and during the Bath & West Show in early June. The carnival evenings in November close the town centres for a few hours. At all other times you will find Glastonbury and Wells relaxed and easy to park in. For the latest listings see the Glastonbury Information Centre and glastonbury.uk.
Plan your stay around it
Check availability at Hunter's Moon for the dates that matter to you.
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