Let me start by taking you back 419 years to 1605 and the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot. We all know the story of how Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were caught before they could blow up the Houses of Parliament. Not many though will realise that the following year King James I decreed that the events of 5 November should be commemorated annually with the lighting of bonfires – a tradition that the nation still celebrates.
Bridgwater was never a town to take such celebrations lightly and over the centuries this grew into the spectacle it is today. Journalistic records dating back to 1847 trace the development over the years and today Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival is the oldest event of its kind in the UK. You can read more about the history on the Bridgwater Carnival website.
Fast forward to 2024 and a few interesting facts. The crowd is estimated to be between 120,000 and 150,000 people who line the 1.7mile procession route. The procession will take between 2 and 2.5 hours to pass any given point. Over 2000 performers will be either on the carts or will taking part as walking masquerade performers. The largest of the carts will measure 100ft in length and in total it is estimated that there will be a total of 500,000 lights in total.
Having been part of a Carnival Club within the town for a number of years, we have now taken a back seat. Our thoughts though are with the hundreds of people organising the event and the road crews manoeuvring carts of all sizes into position ready for the procession, the costume makers, make-up artists and performers.
For us Carnival Day starts mid-morning with a walk into the town and through the High Street. Already the town is buzzing with activities and entertainment in the centre of the town. But we headed to our local pub, The Fountain Inn, to meet friends.
Later on we went out to our chosen spot along the route to join the throngs of onlookers. By now every possible spot is taken and the route is lined with crowds at least 10 deep. The atmosphere is very family orientated and good humoured.
The first cart to pass is the Guy Fawkes Carnival Cart – a tableau that depicts the Gunpowder Plot which of course is where it all started.
But then the competitive carts start to come through. Its difficult to describe the excitement of seeing what each club has come up with. Tableau clubs are a wonder all of their own with the personnel on the carts absolutely stationary throughout the route with one brief rest area. There are times when some of these carts have been the most emotive – I have such admiration for them.
The other have moving chassis, moving parts, spinning wheels, lights, music and all décor depicts their theme, the cart personnel in costume and makeup performing to the music. As they pass the crowds show their appreciation with applause, perhaps singing and dancing along to the music and donating coins into the specific collection carts and collection points (these donations support many charities).
Its impossible to generate the atmosphere in writing, but hopefully some of my photos will give you a bit of a clue. Suffice to say Seeing really is Believing and these dedicated Carnivalites will be back in Bridgwater on 1 November 2025 after another year of work and fundraising to entertain the crowds once more.
Incredible! Those are at least as elaborate as the carts (we call them floats) at the nightly electric parades at the mouse-themed amusement parks! How far in advance would interested parties need to book a hotel?