'Carnival is more like a lifestyle than just a hobby'

As you drive into one of Somerset's historic market towns you are greeted by the sign "Bridgwater: Home of Carnival".

For many, the town's name is almost synonymous with the fantastical Guy Fawkes Carnival they hold.

It is the oldest and one of the largest carnivals in the country, with generations of Somerset families dedicating huge amounts of their time, energy and resources into creating wonderful and imaginative carts, or floats.

Many different carnival clubs work on creating the different carts, each with a different theme, which are taken to processions around the towns and villages of Somerset through the autumn months.

Renegades Carnival Club, based in the town, is no exception.

Founded in 1966, the group boasts approximately 50 members with people aged from 14 to 50-plus years old.

"I do come from a family of 'carnivalites'," says club member Charlotte Edmonds, from Bridgwater, "and my grandparents and great grandparents were carnivelites too."

Charlotte, 52, is helping build the cart for this year with her daughters, 25-year-old Nell and 27-year-old Alice.

She says: "If you can't find the girls, you know they'll be down at the cart, building painting, drawing, whatever needs doing."

As final preparations are being made ahead of this year's Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival on Saturday, people are working on their carts every evening after work.

Thousands of people are set to line the streets of the town as it hosts the first of eight events in November on the main Guy Fawkes Carnival Circuit across Somerset.

Other Somerset towns including Frome, Wellington, Ilminster, Chard, Taunton, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford also host carnivals throughout September and October.

Katie Whiting is a teacher by day but is also Renegades Carnival Club captain.

"Joining Renegades for me was kind of like a rite of passage," she says.

"My mum was actually pregnant with me when she became involved."

Her mother, Sally Williams, also ran the local dance school, something Katie also took on when her mother recently died.

Katie said: "A lot of what we do is in memory of people that aren't here - we do it for them always."

Bridgwater is thought to be the UK's oldest carnival and is reported to bring in £4m to the local economy.

Rita Jones and Chris Hocking are both former presidents of Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee.

Rita was persuaded by her brother to design costumes for her first carnival in the early 1960s.

"The second year they decided they were going to be penguins so we had to adapt a costume to look like a penguin at the cheapest amount of money," she said.

Chris added: "Many of these carnival clubs are family orientated - you'll find there's three generations or more in some of the carnival clubs."

"I'm really pleased that my 10-year-old granddaughter now has taken part in carnival."

If you have a friend or family member in a carnival club, you are probably used to not hearing from them during the autumn - as they spend all their spare time finishing off their cart before the carnival nights begin.

"It's a different animal now - it's more like a lifestyle than just a hobby," says Dan Prosser, from Bridgwater, who has been involved in carnival since he was a teenager.

He says his non-carnival friends think "it's absolutely crazy and absolutely nuts".

Prosser has been welding and hammering the steel structure of the cart ahead of carpenters adding wood to the frame.

"Nerves don't really kick in until it's carnival night and it's time to get on the road."

Somerset's 2026 Guy Fawkes Carnival Circuit Dates:

• Bridgwater: Saturday, 7 November

• Burnham-on-Sea: Monday, 9 November

• Weston-super-Mare: Friday, 13 November

• North Petherton: Saturday, 14 November

• Midsomer Norton Carnival: Monday, 16 November

• Shepton Mallet: Wednesday, 18 November

• Wells: Friday, 20 November

• Glastonbury: Saturday, 21 November

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.