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

The summer calendar is doing that thing where it suddenly becomes very full and everyone pretends they are not already tired from organising the school holidays. Across Wells, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and nearby villages, there are family trails, garden openings, exhibitions, workshops, choirs, Pride events and enough activities to make staying in feel almost rude.

At Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury, the Harry Brockway: Ways With Wood Exhibition is running at the museum on Chilkwell Street. The exhibition celebrates the life and work of Glastonbury-based artist Harry Brockway, who died in 2024, with wood engravings, woodcuts and wooden sculpture on display. Entry is free with Museum Unlimited, while normal admission applies for other visitors. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. It is a proper showcase of craft and patience, which may be humbling for anyone who still cannot cut wrapping paper in a straight line.

Wells Methodist Church continues to host Pop Rock Pub Contemporary Choir, a non-auditioned choir singing pop, rock and plenty in between. Rehearsals include a live band, with a social afterwards at Fosso Lounge. No audition is needed, which is excellent news for anyone whose shower voice has been waiting for its public redemption arc.

Shepton Mallet Men's Shed continues at Unit 8 Charlton Estate, offering companionship, activities and practical projects for people who want to make, mend, learn and share skills. Sessions are listed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am to noon, and Thursdays from 9am to 4pm. Despite the name, this is not someone's garden shed with delusions of grandeur. It is a community space with purpose, tools and, by the sound of it, a decent amount of laughter.

Soulfired Lates has launched at Rock Farm on Windsor Hill Lane in Shepton Mallet, offering evening sauna sessions from Friday, 5 June. Sessions are priced at £12.50, or £9 for members, with private hire available at £90, or £75 for members. It is being billed as a chance to slow down, warm up and leave the week behind, which sounds healthier than lying on the sofa scrolling until your thumb gives up.

The Bishop's Palace in Wells is opening later on selected Friday evenings through summer 2026, from 6pm to 8pm, with last entry at 7.30pm. Listed dates include June 5, 12, 19 and 26, July 10 and 31, and August 7, 14, 21 and 28. Visitors can bring a picnic and enjoy the gardens after hours. Adult tickets are listed at £8.75 and child tickets at £4.40. A picnic in Palace gardens is one of those plans that sounds elegant even if the reality is crisps, supermarket hummus and someone forgetting the forks.

Wells Cathedral is running Mythical Creatures from Monday, 6 July to Tuesday, 1 September. The family trail invites visitors to hunt for dragons, griffins and legendary beasts inspired by the Cathedral's medieval library. It runs from 9am to 4.30pm and is included with standard admission or a valid admission pass. Dragons in the Cathedral is a strong summer-holiday offer, especially when the alternative is another argument about screen time.

Somerset Rural Life Museum is hosting Summer Fun on the Farm during the summer at its Chilkwell Street site in Glastonbury. It gives families another reason to head for the museum during the holidays, which is useful when the school-break planning spreadsheet starts looking less like organisation and more like a cry for help.

Old MacDonald's Farm Trail begins at Radstock Museum on Thursday, 23 July, giving families another summer-holiday option before the words "I'm bored" start echoing around the house like a curse. The trail is one for younger visitors and anyone who enjoys a museum trip with a bit more purpose than simply walking slowly past things and pretending to read every label.

School Summer Holidays at The Bishop's Palace runs from Thursday, 23 July to Wednesday, 2 September at The Bishop's Palace and Gardens in Wells. The Palace and gardens will be part of the summer-holiday line-up, offering another option for families trying to keep everyone occupied without simply giving in to the tablet by 10.14am.

The Glastonbury Symposium comes to Glastonbury Town Hall on Friday, 24 July, bringing another date to a calendar that is already behaving like it has something to prove. Anyone planning to go should check the event listing for timings and booking details, because turning up to a symposium on vibes alone is a bold strategy.

Glastonbury Pride 2026 takes place on Sunday, 26 July, with the main programme running at Tor Sports and Leisure from 10am to 4pm. The site will host the main stage, marketplace, food vendors, community organisations, LGBTQ+ artists and businesses, free face painting, a bouncy castle and a sensory space. So yes, Pride has gone for the "something for everyone and then a bit more on top" approach, which feels very Glastonbury and frankly quite efficient.

The main stage opens at 10am with the mayor and town crier, followed by performances from Haus of Silk, Lianne Vessier, Burt Lash, Ferret and Dandelion. Sarah Dyke MP is listed at 1pm, before a stage break for the march from 1pm to 2.30pm. The Pride dog show, hosted by Penny Drops, follows at 3.15pm, because even the dogs are getting a programme slot and honestly fair play to them.

The Pride march will gather outside the Town Hall from 1pm and leave at 1.30pm. The route starts from Market Cross, heads up the High Street, turns left down Chilkwell Street and continues to the White Spring. Roads will be closed from Magdalene Street to the mini-roundabout on Chilkwell Street during the march, with no High Street access between 1pm and 2pm, so anyone trying to "just nip through town" may wish to rethink their life choices in advance.

Events are planned around town too, including drag brunch at The Queen of Cups from 10am to noon, Pride at The Riflemans from 2pm to 5pm, Fun at Beckets from 5pm to 7pm and the Rainbow Vespers afterparty at the King Arthur from 8pm. The afterparty is ticketed and for over-16s only. In other words, Pride is not so much one event as a full town takeover with glitter, planning and a sensible need to check the timings before heading out.

The Rib in Wells hosts a charity garden opening on Saturday, 25 July at The Rib, St Andrew Street. It is a civilised way to spend time outdoors, assuming the weather behaves and nobody starts comparing your own borders with the sort of expression that says "could do better".

Mapping Connections Free Drop-in Arts Activities takes place at Shepton Mallet Library on Tuesday, 28 July. The session runs from 1pm to 3pm, with doors opening at 12.40pm. Art at the library is always a useful school-holiday option, especially when everyone has already rejected the park for reasons they cannot explain.

New Wine 2026 takes place at The Bath & West Showground on Tuesday, 28 July. It is another sizeable date for the local summer diary, so anyone heading that way will want to check timings and travel plans before setting off, rather than discovering the finer details from a queue.

Wild Wednesdays! is listed for Doulting Village Hall, with summer crafts, children's activities, refreshments and a falconry display in the churchyard. Falconry in a churchyard is not an everyday line in the diary, so it is worth getting the details right before going.

The Art Bank café in Shepton Mallet is hosting a Somerset Wildlife Trust workshop as part of the charity's Act to Adapt process. The free two-hour session will look at how communities can create a climate adaptation plan, with people working together in groups to discuss local climate impacts and possible responses. Drinks will be available to buy from the café, with some free snacks provided, and registration is through Eventbrite. Practical planning, local discussion and snacks: frankly, that is how more meetings should behave.

A South West Craft Fair is taking place at Wells Town Hall, with stallholders showcasing their work. Craft fairs remain risky territory for anyone who says they are "just browsing" and then leaves with soap, earrings, a ceramic mushroom and no clear memory of how it happened.

More events are listed on the Wells, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet Nub News what's on pages. Organisers can add their events for free through Nub News: add a Wells event, add a Shepton Mallet event, or add a Glastonbury and Street event.