What's On in Shepton Mallet is brought to you by the Bath & West Showground — home to the biggest events in Somerset.

There is really no elegant way to summarise a weekend that includes prison tours and award-winning cheese, so Shepton Mallet may as well lean into it. From Friday through to Sunday, the town and its surrounds offer a mix of market trading, heritage visits, railway rides and the sort of food festival that can derail even the most sensible plans.

Thursday 19 March starts in Wells with Maestro Series - The Elias String Quartet with Gary Pomeroy at Cedars Hall. The concert brings The Elias String Quartet together with violist Gary Pomeroy for a programme of Mozart string quintets alongside works by Mendelssohn and Schubert. Tickets are £30, with free admission for under-18s.

Also on Thursday evening in Glastonbury, Alice in Wonderland takes place at Goddess House, with doors from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The show is described as part tale, part shamanic journey and part cabaret, which at least rules out anyone claiming they were not warned.

Friday 20 March begins in Shepton Mallet with the regular Friday Market in the Market Place from 8.30am to 1pm, offering local produce and food in the centre of town. Shepton Mallet Prison is also one of the town's main weekend draws, with guided tours running across the weekend and The Cell escape room available on weekend dates.

At the Bath and West Showground, The Bath & West Food & Drink Festival 2026 opens for a three-day run from Friday to Sunday, with doors from 10am. The event includes the British Cheese Awards, food and drink stands from across the South West, a bierkeller-style area, talks on the main stage, food and drink pairings and a kids zone. Advance adult tickets are £6, or two for £10, while children aged 15 and under go free.

In Glastonbury on Friday evening, Sam Lewis at Avalon Acoustic Sessions - Glastonbury takes place at Avalon Acoustic Sessions, 50 High Street. For anyone after something quieter, the East Somerset Railway offers a 40-minute steam train ride through the Mendip countryside, while Kilver Court Gardens makes a more low-key option for a walk.

Saturday 21 March is the busiest day of the lot, because of course it is. In Wells, Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society Duruflé Requiem & Haydn Mass takes place at Wells Cathedral at 7pm, with Southern Sinfonia, conductor Timothy Parsons and soloists Ana Beard Fernández, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Matthew Minter and Angus McPhee. Tickets are listed at £15 to £45, with under-16s free.

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Earlier in the day, Writers Retreat with The Write Assitant runs from 10.30am to 3pm at Friars Oven Farm, West Compton, near Shepton Mallet. The retreat is aimed at beginners and experienced writers alike and includes guided exercises, editing activities and time to write, with tea, coffee and biscuits provided. On Saturday evening in Wells, Music Quiz 4 MS returns to Tramways, West Street, with teams of up to six, £5 per person, and arrival from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The Bath & West Food & Drink Festival 2026 continues at the showground from 10am on Saturday.

Shepton Mallet Prison continues its tours and escape room sessions across the day, while Wells also offers the Bishop's Palace and Gardens for anyone after something less scheduled. In Glastonbury and Street, Glastonbury Abbey and Glastonbury Tor remain reliable daytime options, and Street has live music listed with Jason Lee Soloist at The Unity Club on Saturday from the details you provided.

Sunday 22 March is quieter for one-off listings, but not empty. The final day of The Bath & West Food & Drink Festival 2026 runs again from 10am at the showground, which means one last chance for cheese, drinks and various forms of edible temptation before Monday barges in and ruins the mood.

Shepton Mallet Prison remains one of the clearest booked attractions across the weekend, and the East Somerset Railway is still a good shout for a slower afternoon out. Kilver Court Gardens is another straightforward option if you just want fresh air without pretending you are embarking on anything especially noble. In Wells, the Bishop's Palace and Gardens is still a sensible pick for a wander or lunch, while in Glastonbury the Abbey grounds and the Tor continue to offer the easiest way to fill a Sunday without needing a timetable.

Across the whole stretch from Thursday to Sunday, that gives you a fairly solid local mix: chamber music and cabaret-style theatre on Thursday, market stalls, prison tours, food festival crowds and live music on Friday, then the full Saturday pile-up of cathedral music, writing, quiz night, prison visits and more festival browsing, before Sunday winds things down with gardens, railway rides, heritage sites and one final push at the cheese counters. It is, all told, a decent few days to be out and about locally.

Anyone organising their own event can add it to the listings for free using the Nub News submission pages for each town: Wells at https://wells.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create, Glastonbury and Street at https://glastonbury.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create, and Shepton Mallet at https://sheptonmallet.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create.