Being run by the oldest agricultural society in the country, that was founded in 1777, the Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet is an integral part of the area's community.

If you have not visited recently, you may not realise that the Bath and West Showground is the home of a whole host of events throughout the year, with a different event taking place every weekend.

Therefore, Shepton Mallet Nub News is delighted to welcome the Bath and West Showground as the sponsor of the What's On section of our site, which supports us in bringing our online good news newspaper to our loyal readers.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be sponsoring Shepton Mallet Nub News," said Zoe Purcell, Marketing Executive at the Bath and West.

"We are proud to be one of the largest event venues in the Southwest, and really want to showcase what we have to those living local to us, for everyone to know what they have right on their doorstep and to come and take advantage of it all.

"There really is an event for everyone at the Bath and West Showground. Where else in Somerset could you take a train ride on the miniature railway one weekend, followed by the UK's biggest indoor electronic music all-nighter the next?"

The Bath and West Showground officially opened its gates in 1965, as the Royal Bath and West of England Society needed a permanent home for the ever-popular Royal Bath and West Show.

While the society continued to organise its own events (the Royal Bath and West Show, The Dairy Show, Grassland UK and in recent years the Field to Food Learning Day), in the following years they introduced a busy calendar of other events, including concerts from the likes of Duran Duran (1982), Dire Straits (1985), The Cure (1985) and Status Quo (1993).

As many may already know, the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music was also held at the Showground in June 1970.

With performances from bands including Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, the festival inspired Michael Eavis to host his first event later that year, which would then become the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary and Performing Arts.

More recently, the showground has welcomed two nights of sold-out comedy with Bill Bailey, a Christmas Party Night with Boney M, An Evening with Amanda Owen, and musical performances from Rudimental, Dizzee Rascal and Becky Hill (NASS Festival).

The showground is finally getting back to its busy post-Covid calendar, with a host of events taking place before the end of the year, including Westfest 2021, the South West Homebuilding and Renovating Show, and Craft4Crafters.

The Giant Flea Market, The Toy and Train Collectors Fair and The Antiques and Collectors Fair will all be returning to the showground before Christmas, along with The Bath and West Railway, who will be running festive train rides in December.

With more than 240 acres, the possibilities are endless at the Bath and West Showground. Whether you're joining us at one of our events or looking for somewhere to host your next business meeting, the showground is an accessible and versatile venue, offering a range of services and facilities.

As well as acres of outdoor space (which includes a lake, a miniature railway, and numerous woodland areas), the showground also has six sizeable permanent buildings, including the Wessex Pavilion; a recently refurbished two storey bar and restaurant.

The Bath and West Showground really is the perfect venue for everything from concerts to conferences, business meetings to gala dinners and sporting events to school proms!

Chloe Warren, Event and Catering Coordinator at the Bath and West, said: "The Bath and West Showground really is a blank canvas for event organisers, with their only limitation being their imagination!

"We have acres of space available, which works perfectly for so many different types of events; whether they are expecting 10 visitors or 100,000!

"We work closely with our event organisers, providing advice and recommending suppliers to ensure their event runs smoothly.

"We are proud of the variety of events that are held here on the showground and look forward to welcoming some new events in 2022."

CEO of Nub News, Karl Hancock, said: "It's great to have the Bath and West Showground on board with Shepton Mallet Nub News.

"Without sponsors like them, we wouldn't be able to keep giving Shepton Mallet the dedicated local news it deserves."

You can visit the Bath and West Showground website here, where you'll find out What's On at the showground, as well as contact details for the event team, if you wish to find out more about venue hire.