NF04 June/July 2024

NF04 June / July 2024 

thenearfield.com 

PLUS 

Mind games with Clinton Baptiste / Moses McKenzie 

Cow barn feasting at Horrell & Horrell 

All back to Karanga / What’s on in the southwest

Welcome 3 

Simon Tapscott 

Co-founder and commercial director 

Jack Horner 

Co-founder and creative director 

Chris Parkin 

Editor 

Sam Freeman 

Art director 

Clemmie Millbank 

Listings editor 

Camilla Cary-Elwes 

Subeditor 

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WELCOME 

Here comes the summer! A time to sit back and 

unwind, when the living is easy, there’s dancing in 

the streets and every day is (potentially) a good 

day. Aside from providing the inspiration for 

a crateful of classic songs, what summer really 

offers is the opportunity to get out and chase 

adventure. This issue gives you a head start. 

Turn the pages and you’ll find our experts’ guide 

to local adventures, a roundup of back-to-nature 

camping, an invitation to visit a rural anarcho-arts 

park, a call to get rewilding, and a neon-bright 

preview of carnival season. Plus there’s alfresco 

eating, loads of local events and a chance to win 

a pair of festival tickets. It’s hot stuff! 

PS. Do you know you can subscribe to nearfield for 

just £3 a month and get every issue delivered to 

your door while backing independent journalism 

that supports the region’s events and creative 

industries? You do now. 

Chris Parkin 

editorial@thenearfield.com 


@the.nearfield 

THIS ISSUE’S 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Writers 

Alexia Loundras 

Amanda Nicholls 

Natalie Paris 

Freya Parr 

Gary Tipp 

With special thanks 

to Bath Spa University 

students Georgie Bell, 

Emma Cox and Jess 

Grundy 

Photographers 

James Beck 

Alice Keegan (cover) 

Illustrator 

David Milan (cover) 


NF04

Contents 5 

In this issue NF04 

07 

39 26 46 

Photo: James Beck, @samsnapsalot, Felix Russell-Saw, Simon Whitehead 

Features 

26 OUTDOOR ACTION 

Station-to-station hikes, 

seaside bikepacking, 

Mendip gravel loops and 

cold-water dipping – choose 

your adventure this summer 

39 CAMPING OUT 

Discover a new favourite 

pitch within easy reach of 

Bath and Bristol 

46 ROCKAWAY PARK 

Meet the brains behind 

Temple Cloud’s inspiring 

anarcho-arts commune 

55 COMMUNITY REWILDING 

From small urban projects to 

sprawling wildlife recovery, 

there’s no single approach to 

bringing back nature 

62 CARNIVAL SEASON 

The party makers, 

soundsystem operators and 

drag king aces bringing the 

heat this carnival season 

62 

Regulars 

07 FIELD NOTES 

Spiral: The Big 

Unwind, local 

podcasters, Bristol 

5x15, guitar-maker 

Josh Stopford and 

our list of what’s hot 

in the region 

13 FOOD & DRINK 

Horrell & Horrell, 

Bath Community 

Kitchen and top 

spots for eating 

‘out’ out 

18 THE LIST 

Your guide to what’s 

on in the southwest 

78 IT HAPPENED HERE 

Do you remember 

southwest club 

night Karanga? 

80 MY NEARFIELD 

With the Bristolraised 

author, 

Moses McKenzie 

82 

COMPETITION 

Win a pair of 

weekend tickets to 

Forwards Festival 



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Field Notes 7 

FieldNotes 

Keeping you clued-up about life in the southwest 

NEARFIELD • NEARFIELD • NEARFIELD • NEARFIELD • 

ROUND 

THE TWIST 

Photo: Holly Whitaker 

Spiral: The Big Unwind 

is bringing something 

a little different to 

Kelston Roundhill this 

midsummer. Spiral 

co-founder Hermione 

Benest tells us more 

“Spiral is a film and music event 

series we started in southeast 

London. Our first event was 

a May Day screening of The 

Wicker Man, which we timed 

so the iconic finale of the sun 

setting over Summerisle was 

in sync with the sun setting 

in real time, before a flute-led 

procession around an industrial 

estate. Since then, everything 

we’ve done has been about 

mixing live music and film, 

pairing some of our favourite 

UK films with an eclectic mix of 

music, from folk to electronic. 

“Spiral: The Big Unwind is our 

first multi-day event. We’re 

partnering with Kelston Records 

for a weekend of live music, film 

screenings and DJs at Kelston 

Roundhill Barn. The Roundhill 

is such a special place; there’s 

space to breathe all around the 

stone barn, which will host most 

of our kaleidoscopic lineup. We 

love transforming spaces with 

music and stories, and this gives 

us an inspiring backdrop. 

“We’ve curated our programme 

around the opportunity for the 

audience to walk up the hill to 

see the sunset together. We’ve 

also got a few solstice-themed 

happenings planned. The lineup 

started with a few key themes, 

as we wanted everything to 

connect back to the land in some 

way. We’re bringing together 

Aga Ujma (pictured), a classically 

trained musician and composer, 

and Bristol band Tara Clerkin Trio, 

with their mix of jazz, trip-hop, 

electronica and psychedelia. We 

want it to feel expansive but also 

like a small, curated experience.” 

Spiral: The Big Unwind takes 

place at Kelston Roundhill Barn 

on June 14-16. nfld.io/bigspiral 



8 Field Notes 

HOT LIST 

Discover what’s catching our attention at nearfield HQ right now 

Owen’s Sausages 

& Hams 

Station Approach, 

Frome 

Inspired by the 

sausagey treats found 

in his wife’s homeland 

of Sweden, Owen 

Barratt is advocating 

for our own Scandistyle 

sausage culture 

with this amazing 

shop and bar. Open 

on Thursdays and 

Fridays (12-3pm), and 

Saturdays (11am-4pm). 

The Jam Jar 

St Jude’s, Bristol 

Yet another of Bristol’s 

grassroots venues that 

urgently needs your 

support to stay open. 

Give it to them on 

July 3 when Pakistan’s 

79-year-old master 

of the balochi benju, 

Ustad Noor Bakhsh, 

drops in to deliver 

a truly transportive set 

of traditional Persian 

and Kurdish tunes. 

nfld.io/ustadnb 

Stray by Laurie Owens 

and Milo Johnson 

(Tangent Books) 

A gripping memoir from the 

founding member of Wild 

Bunch, Milo Johnson (AKA 

DJ Milo). Written with his wife 

and author Laurie Owens, the 

book tells how he left his challenging childhood 

behind after finding his purpose in music. 

Sequenced Ceramics (TBC Editions) 

After DJing with fossils, Bristol’s Copper 

Sounds drop this: an album 

of dub ambient made 

from ceramics played with 

mechanical beaters. Buy one 

of 50 ceramic vessels glazed 

with a download code. 

Milk Bun Deli 

5 Queen Street, Bath 

The folks behind 

beloved burger joint 

Milk Bun are serving 

a different kind of 

filling at this Bath 

deli with their artfully 

crafted door-stopper 

sarnies. Vying for 

sandwich of the year 

are their salami- and 

mortadella-packed 

muffaletta, and banh 

mi, with gochujangmarinated 

chicken 

thigh. All served on 

their own milk bread. 

Karhu sneaker drop 

at Cooshti 

57 Park Street, Bristol 

Bored stiff by Nike, 

adidas and New 

Balance? Slip into the 

latest range of comfyas-heck, 

hard-wearing 

beauties from the 

Finnish trainer legends, 

Karhu. Our favourites? 

The Legacy 96 in True 

Navy/Irish Cream. 

A word 

in your 

shell-like 

Top pods made 

by nearfield 

locals 

The Spaceship Earth 

Podcast 

In the face of climate 

meltdown, Dan 

Burgess seeks answers 

through illuminating 

conversations with 

artists, activists and 

adventurers. The Sam 

Lee episode is a doozy. 

Bristol Unpacked 

BBC Radio 4 journalist 

Neil Maggs unpacks 

the local topics that 

matter, from local 

elections to housing 

activism, on behalf of 

must-read communityowned 

newspaper, The 

Bristol Cable. 

Change Unfiltered 

In which former tech 

executive Angela 

Scott explores 

the intersection 

of technological 

innovation and our 

everyday lives by 

talking to global leaders 

and local entrepreneurs. 


Field Notes 9 

Page turners 

READY, STEADY, GO 

Manifesto: 

The Battle for 

Green Britain with 

Dale Vince 

Frome Town Hall 

June 14 

One of the UK’s most 

vocal proponents of 

a green revolution 

discusses his latest 

book, which is part 

memoir, part mission 

statement. 

nfld.io/dalev 

Bristol 5x15’s Helen Nixon and 

Jessie Huth explain what their 

literary ‘saloon’ is all about. 

So what exactly is 5x15? 

“It’s a literary night in bitesized 

pieces – a smorgasbord 

of stories, if you will. We invite 

five people to tell a story in 15 

minutes, which is usually their 

life’s work or passion, or their 

latest project or book. We curate 

it so there’s a mix of subjects 

and moods; a writer might be 

on a lineup with a philosopher, 

a comedian, a scientist and 

a cult survivor, for example.” 

What’s the atmosphere like? 

“One early press piece described 

it as ‘more saloon than salon’, 

which I love as it really does get 

across the informal, lively nature 

of it. The event is pacey and 

speakers sit at the front to watch 

each other’s talks and mingle 

with the audience.” 

Does everyone stick to the rules? 

“We have a very prominent sand 

timer on the lectern that we ask 

speakers to turn over as they 

begin. Sometimes we have to 

start gently gesticulating from 

the front row, but nobody has 

been wrestled off to date.” 

How do you pick your speakers? 

“We’re constantly sending each 

other articles or people we come 

across; it’s a very organic process 

of, ‘Ooh, yes, they’d be great,’ and 

we build from there. At our outer 

edges, Helen errs more towards 

harrowing stories, and I’m drawn 

to the more ‘out there’ subjects.” 

Who’s speaking on June 20? 

“We have the playwright and 

activist, Anders Lustgarten; the 

Bristol-based writer, Polly Barton, 

talking about her book Porn: 

An Oral History; artistic director 

of the Bristol Old Vic, Nancy 

Medina; the author Viv Groskop, 

on her new book One Ukrainian 

Summer; and Bristol poet and 

activist, Lawrence Hoo.” 

Bristol 5x15 takes place on June 

20 at The Station, Bristol. 

nfld.io/b5x15 

Headshot with Rita 

Bullwinkel 

Storysmith, Bristol 


Debut novelist (and 

the current editor of 

McSweeney’s Quarterly 

Concern) Rita 

Bullwinkel is destined 

to land at the top of 

most end-of-year lists 

with this original story 

of teen girl boxers. 

nfld.io/ritab 

Passiontide with 

Monique Roffey 

Walcot House, Bath 

July 4 

Costa Book Award 

winner Monique Roffey 

digs into the themes 

explored in her latest 

novel Passiontide, 

about four women who 

spark a revolution on 

a Caribbean island. 

Hosted by Mr B’s. 

nfld.io/mroffey 



10 Field Notes 

Meet 

the 

maker 

JOSH STOPFORD 

“I got my first electric when I was 

11 and massively into Nirvana. 

I think the love of guitars began 

there, in the world of grunge. 

Having one strapped to your 

back at school was mandatory 

as a grunge kid. I loved to paint 

them or personalise them with 

stickers. I remember shrinking 

crisp packets in the oven and 

sticking them all over one guitar.” 

Photo: Simon Whitehead, Guitar Magazine 

The Bronco guitars JOSH 

STOPFORD builds as 

West Valley Guitars are 

unmistakably his – even 

spotted being thrashed 

on festival stages from 

a distance. The Frome 

guitar maker has one design 

which he can customise in 

every way to achieve the 

sound and feel his plankspanking 

customers desire. 

“A big difference between 

my customs and a massproduced 

guitar is the fine 

setup,” he says. “That’s what 

makes a guitar feel effortless 

under your fingers, like it 

belongs there.” Currently 

slinging his guitars over 

their shoulders are Idles, The 

Vaccines and Alberta Cross, 

so we decided to ask Josh 

for his maker story. 

“I still have the first one I made. 

It’s a Telecaster shape. Way too 

heavy, which is standard for 

a first guitar. It has a body made 

of blackbean, an Australian 

hardwood, and the neck is iroko. 

I just used whatever I had, to 

be honest, but by this stage 

I was wise enough to put decent 

pickups in. It’s a great guitar.” 

“When you design a guitar with 

me, we’ll share photos and 

playlists for weeks. When 

I built for Lee from Idles, he had 

a brief: he wanted something 

that looked like a beautiful 

piece of furniture. He has a very 

stripped-back setup. Just one 

pickup. No tone, just volume. 

I used mahogany as a nod to 

furniture building.” 

Buckle-up Bronco 

One of Josh’s 

unmistakable 

custom guitars 

Right 

Josh gives Idles’ 

Lee Kiernan his 

new guitar and 

(below) hangs 

with the band 


Field Notes 11 

“My guitars are inspired by 

surf rock, rockabilly and 1950s 

American car design. I love that 

era. Bold, brash and confident. 

I’ve always loved players like Dick 

Dale, with their twangy, spring 

reverb riffs. I want my guitars to 

evoke that rebellious, adolescent 

feeling. I want them to make you 

feel playing.” 

“When I delivered the guitar 

to Idles’ studio, they were 

rehearsing for their tour. I was 

just about to leave when they 

asked if I wanted to hear any 

songs, so I ended up getting my 

very own private gig. It was 

a dream! I’ve built for The 

Vaccines and also Alberta Cross, 

who is a wonderful musician. My 

dream build would be for Jack 

White or Josh Homme. I’d have 

to make it about 10% bigger, 

though; he’s a giant.” 

“So many wonderful guitars sit 

in cupboards or in collectors’ 

homes, not being played – not 

fulfilling their destiny! When 

I see one of my guitars on stage, 

I feel like I’m playing a part in the 

performance somehow. Guitars 

have careers beyond their 

players. If it doesn’t get smashed 

to pieces, I like to imagine my 

guitars playing on stages for 

decades to come.” 

Level-up your guitar maintenance 

skills with one of Josh’s workshop 

courses, which range from basic 

setup and refretting, to neck 

building. westvalleyguitars.co.uk 



Food & Drink 13 

Food&Drink 

COMPILED BY AMANDA NICHOLLS 

FLAVOUR OF 

THE MONTH 

Xxxxxxxx 

Xxxxxxx 

HORRELL 

& HORRELL 

Brooklands Barn, Sparkford 

Foraged finds in wicker baskets, 

vintage tennis rackets, tuliptopped 

tablescapes, and a log 

burner to keep old pals and 

just-forged friendships 

warm as daylight dips. 

Horrell & Horrell’s openfronted 

old cow barn is an 

undeniably special space 

for an intimate supper. 

Six or seven short steps from 

their home in Sparkford, 

husband-and-wife team Jules 

and Steve Horrell heartily 

welcome 30 guests to their 

banqueting table every weekend 

for the likes of lamb shoulder 

with quince jelly, and outstanding 

vegetarian creations that are 

given as much consideration 

as their meaty counterparts. 

Charred in the brick oven with 

crispy roasties, cabbage comes 

into its own when paired with 

chickpea tagine, greens and 

savoury granola. 

While the words ‘menu free’ 

might strike fear into some, 

dietary requirements are catered 

to with enough notice; and if 

you relish the unknown, you’ll 

love this ‘fire kitchen’, where 

the homegrown harvest is 

allowed to shine (meringue with 

caramelised apple, blackberry, 

toasted porridge and custard is 

our kind of surprise). There might 

be spring onion and wild garlic 

focaccia to slather in yoghurt 

spread and dip into nettle and 

white bean soup, or potato 

and honey might combine for 

flavourful flatbreads. 

Declared by critics as one of the 

UK’s best dining experiences 

before it was even six months off 

the notepad, this outfit has all 

the warmth of dinner at a mate’s 

while benefiting from hospitality 

and innovation honed at Bruton’s 

Roth Bar & Grill. Bring a bottle and 

let the conversation flow. 

Dinner £55 per person; 

Sunday lunch £50 

horrellandhorrell.co.uk 



14 Food & Drink 

EATING ‘OUT’ OUT 

Here comes the summer! From fizz and nibbles 

with a killer vista to lakeside lunches, here are our 

picks for alfresco dining as the temperatures rise 

Photos: Marianne Cartwright-Hignett, Ed Schofield, Fergus Coyle 

WOODCHESTER VALLEY VINEYARD 

Convent Lane, Stroud 

Soak up the evening sun on the terrace, among the 

limestone slopes of Woodchester’s boutique vineyard, 

while enjoying some Wednesday night fizz and nibbling 

on cheese and charcuterie. You’ll also be invited to 

stroll through the vines before sampling three of 

Woodchester’s award-winning wines in the tasting room. 

Wednesday evenings from 6pm, £30 

woodchestervalleyvineyard.co.uk 

ST WERBURGHS 

CITY FARM CAFÉ 

Watercress Road, Bristol 

A gnarled ‘hobbit house’ 

designed by the Bristol 

Gnomes, this ethical 

community treasure deals 

not in food miles but yards, 

stocking its own farm produce, 

promoting closed-loop food 

systems and encouraging local 

allotmenteers to swap their 

wares for a dish off the menu. 

Nibble on cheddar and onion 

scones with poached eggs, 

nettle hollandaise and buttered 

greens, fermented buckwheat 

pancakes, or chocolate, beer 

and beetroot cake on the deck 

overlooking the smallholding. 

swcityfarm.co.uk 



WOODFORD 

LODGE 

Stoke Hill, Chew Stoke 

“I can see the 

terrace full of 

people roasting in 

the sunshine, while 

I’m roasting their 

food on the Bertha! 

The proximity 

of guests to the 

preparation of their 

food is crucial to 

ensuring our ‘from 

scratch’ approach 

is visible and real 

to our diners.” 

Matthew Briddon 

Head chef at Iford 

Manor Kitchen 

Between Chew Stoke 

and Herrons Bay 

Causeway is a long 

and winding lane 

leading to a lush green 

lakeside expanse – and 

a delightful outdoor 

dining spot. It’s the 

perfect place for wolfing 

down one of the Lodge’s 

sizeable seafood 

platters or a smoked 

duck noodle salad, or 

to snack on mackerel 

scotch eggs as you 

watch the sailing clubs 

criss-cross the lake. 

Lunch starters £8-8.50; 

mains £14.50-26 

woodfordlodge.co.uk 

IFORD MANOR KITCHEN 

Iford Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon 

Michelin-lauded Matt Briddon gets 

a daily 2am haul call from his fisherman 

so that his pick can be served up on the 

suntrap terrace by lunchtime. Focused on 

putting his stable-conversion restaurant 

on the culinary map, Matt has everything 

made from scratch, including nitrate-free 

charcuterie and sourdough from the inhouse 

bakery. Sign up for a supper 

club or a picnic with live jazz in 

the Italianate gardens. 

Small plates £8-14; 

larger plates £19-25 

ifordmanor.co.uk 



16 Food & Drink 

FEEDING 

FRENZY 

Grub’s up 

Bath Community 

Kitchen cofounder 

Rakesh 

Menon (below) 

helps a team 

of workshop 

participants 

prepare a special 

three-course 

community meal 

at Roseberry 

Road Studios 

Whether it’s cooking for 400 

Red Rebels ahead of the recent 

Funeral for Nature procession, 

teaching teens new culinary 

skills, or catering for his toughest 

crowd, the over-80s – who much 

prefer Heinz over homemade 

beans, thank you very much 

– Bath Community Kitchen’s 

co-founder Rob Lewis loves the 

variety that comes with making 

quality, largely vegetarian 

meals using produce that would 

otherwise go to landfill 

PHOTOGRAPHY LEE NIEL 



“We’ll pick up surplus supermarket 

stock on a Thursday and have 

three hours to come up with 

a three-course meal for 40 

people,” explains Rob, who 

spent his days prior to Bath 

Community Kitchen striving to 

procure the best ingredients 

possible while managing the 

food and horticultural provision 

at educational charity Jamie’s 

Farm. Now he’s tasked with 

serving up something wonderful 

using ingredients that aren’t good 

enough to be sold. “It’s a fun, 

creative challenge,” he says. “The 

shops have a short window for 

selling bananas and mushrooms, 

so we get a lot of those.” 

Similar in concept to The Long 

Table in Stroud, Bath Community 

Kitchen is bringing communal 

dining events and workshops 

to deprived areas, and giving 

people the chance to experience 

Bath’s latest art spaces – such as 

Roseberry Road Studios (pictured) 

– through food. And it all revolves 

around the belief that cooking and 

sharing food is a therapeutic tool. 

“There’s a short window for selling bananas 

and mushrooms, so we get a lot of those” 

The initiative launched last June at 

Bath’s Forest of Imagination, with 

children’s healthy eating classes 

and lunches cooked by Syrian 

refugees. The kitchen’s vision 

was to facilitate better access to 

delicious, affordable food, equip 

local people with the skills to 

cook well for themselves, alleviate 

social isolation, loneliness and 

hunger, and bring about lasting 

change. Having worked in a pub, 

café and Japanese restaurant, 

Rakesh Menon – who can often 

be found in charge of the similarly 

minded FoodCycle kitchen – was 

the perfect candidate to set up the 

initiative with Rob. The pair are also 

joined by Bath chef and artist Helen 

Lawrence (formerly the owner of 

Demuths Cookery School), who 

was keen to explore how closely 

our diet and our relationship with 

food relates to wellbeing. 

“Setting up the kitchen has been 

an incredible experience,” says 

Rob. “We want to continue using 

food to make a positive impact – 

promoting healthy eating, 

creating opportunities to eat as 

a community, and teaching skills to 

sustain long-term change.” You can 

catch Bath Community Kitchen at 

this year’s Forest of Imagination 

from June 27, and at Bath Carnival 

on July 13, or have them cater 

your private event to support their 

outreach programme. 

bathcommunitykitchen.org.uk 




18 The List 

TheList 

What’s on locally in June and July 

Browse loads 

more events at 


COMPILED BY 

CLEMMIE MILLBANK 


Photos: Carolyn Mendelsohn, © Channel Four Films 

BACK 

TO LIFE 

Adelle Stripe tells us 

about her fascination with 

Andrea Dunbar ahead 

of a Bristol theatre 

production of her 

biographical novel, Black 

Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, 

about the playwright 

I was a fan of Andrea Dunbar as 

a teenager and watched Rita, 

Sue and Bob Too in my early 

teens. I had a black-and-white TV 

in my room with a coat-hanger 

aerial, and when my parents went 

to bed, I would watch all sorts of 

inappropriate films on Channel 4. 

I loved Andrea’s writing, and 

Shelagh Delaney’s, so I wanted 

to be a playwright. Their writing 

spoke to me about my own life 

experiences; I felt a connection. 

I was interested in writers such 

as Gordon Burn and David 

Peace. They were inspired by 

20th-century American nonfiction 

novelists, but set their 

work in northern England. 

It’s important to treat your 

‘characters’ with respect. Richard 

Holmes describes the process of 

biographical writing as “making 

the dead walk again”. If you 

exhume somebody, you have to 

tread carefully. 

Andrea’s story is not the 

historical truth – partly because 

nobody knows what the truth 

really was. So much of the factual 

material around her life was 

uncertain. She dramatised her 

own life for the stage. But just 

as she told her life story through 

drama, I thought it might be 

possible to tell it through fiction. 

Freedom Studios approached 

me initially [about a stage 

adaptation]. I thought they would 



The List 19 

do something interesting, as 

they were based in Bradford and 

wanted to cast the play locally. 

It toured around working men’s 

clubs, pubs, community centres 

and theatres across Yorkshire 

in 2019. It really connected with 

people across the region; many 

had never set foot in a theatre 

before, but were delighted to see 

a play in their local drinking hole. 

I thought Andrea would have 

appreciated that. Lisa Holdsworth 

[who adapted Black Teeth… for 

the stage] made me look at the 

book in a new way. She took the 

dialogue and essence of the novel 

and restructured it. It invigorated 

my perception of the work. 

The last time I was at the 

Royal Court, the audience was 

predominantly middle class, 

and probably a few tiers above 

on the social scale. So in that 

respect, not much has changed 

since Andrea’s plays were first 

performed there. It’s probably 

quite different UK-wide, although 

even with subsidies, it’s still 

beyond the reach of many. 

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is loved by 

audiences from all backgrounds, 

Andrea’s humour cuts through 

boundaries. The play is 

distinctively northern, and 

I think there’s an appetite for 

our particular bleak black wit. 

I’m pleased Black Teeth… will be 

performed in Bristol. There has 

been a lot of interest in the play 

since it was first performed, so 

I hope this is just the beginning. 

Fran Lewis directs Black Teeth 

and a Brilliant Smile at Kelvin 

Players Theatre, Bristol, July 9-13. 

nfld.io/blkteeth 

High Steaks 

Bristol Old Vic 

June 18-22 

In which the 

performer, ELOINA, 

hangs beef steaks 

from her labia, 

butchers them and 

then sizzles them on 

a grill. A masterful 

combination of 

performance 

art, intimate 

conversation and 

classic clown 

comedy, this awardwinning 

show about 

labia shaming arrives 

in Bristol after an 

acclaimed sold-out 

run in Edinburgh. 

nfld.io/highstks 

Meridian Sundust 

Wake the 

Tiger, Bristol 


It’s golden hour at 

Bristol’s amazement 

park, where an allfemale 

lineup of live 

musicians, DJs, and 

theatre and circus 

performers will 

be helping guests 

transcend to the 

OUTERverse. Sun 

worshippers should 

come dressed in 

their shimmering 

sundust best. 

Bring your biggest 

midsummer energy. 

nfld.io/meridsun 

Julian Marley & The Uprising 

Cheese & Grain, Frome 


Julian Marley returns to spread the message 

of love, unity and social consciousness with 

his universally cherished music. Touting 

songs from his Grammy-winning album 

Colours of Royal, this is a chance to witness 

one of the greats in an intimate setting. 

nfld.io/jmarley 

Ben de la Cour 

& Holysseus Fly 

Pound Arts, 

Corsham 


With his brooding 

‘Americanoir’ and 

crooked ballads, 

Brooklyn-raised de la 

Cour is a rising star 

of the alt-folk scene 

and performs here 

in a double bill with 

Bristol’s Holysseus 

Fly. Once of Ishmael 

Ensemble, Holly 

imbues her jazzy, 

minimal textures with 

an odd, beguiling 

theatricality. 

nfld.io/holyfly 

Bristol Harbour 

Festival 

Bristol 

Harbourside 

July 19-21 

A waterside freebie 

featuring musicians 

including Grove, 

She’s Got Brass and 

Emily Magpie (plus 

emerging local 

talent), street food, 

spoken word, roving 

performers and – 

as is tradition – 

a cardboard 

boat race. The 

atmosphere is 

always buzzing at 

this weekender. 

nfld.io/harbfest 



Supported by


The List 21 

Photo: untitled: double act (2010) © Phyllida Barlow Estate. Photo: Andy Keate / Serpentine Gallery; Sky Burial by Mat Collishaw 

Windrush: 

Portraits of 

a Pioneering 

Generation 

RWA, Bristol 

Until August 11 

This collection 

of 10 portraits of 

Caribbean-British 

individuals by 

leading artists, 

including Sonia Boyce 

MBE, honours the 

accomplishments 

and legacy of the 

Windrush generation. 

The exhibition 

includes a festival 

celebration on June 

22 to commemorate 

Windrush Day. 

nfld.io/windgen 

SITE Festival 

Various venues, Stroud 

Until June 23 

Featuring local artists and creators, this cross-town 

programme of exhibitions and specially commissioned 

projects includes everything from traditional print to 

knitted wearable art. Stop by SVA on their open studio 

weekends (June 8-9, 15-16) to see the artists at work. 

nfld.io/sitefest 

Henry Moore in 

Miniature 

The Holburne, Bath 

Until September 8 

In partnership with 

the Henry Moore 

Foundation, this 

exhibition includes 

over 60 works that 

are all tiny enough 

to fit in your hand. 

The maquettes on 

display are from every 

decade of his career, 

from his best-known 

sculptures to lesserseen 

works, including 

the first appearance 

in an exhibition of 

an early lead cast of 

Mother & Child. 

nfld.io/minihen 

Forest of 

Imagination 

The Holburne 

Gardens, Bath 


Bath’s magical annual 

pop-up exploring 

biodiversity through 

family-friendly 

artworks returns. 

Artist Matthew Leece 

collaborates with 

Kidical Mass, while 

An-Ki is an immersive 

theatrical experience 

made with The Egg 

and Catalonia’s 

Ortiga Collective, and 

performed in a ‘living 

venue’. All for free. 

nfld.io/forimag 

Phyllida Barlow: Unscripted 

Hauser & Wirth, Bruton 

Until January 5 

De Nadder 

Soundscape – 

A season of no 

things 

Messums West, 

Tisbury 

Until July 1 

Step into the tithe 

barn and feel yourself 

surrounded by the De 

Nadder Soundscape, 

named after the 

nearby river. Created 

by Orlando Gough 

and Alastair Goolden, 

the soundscape 

allows your mind 

to flow freely. Book 

a special twilight 

experience. 

nfld.io/denadd 

Bringing together sculptures, installations, studio 

maquettes and drawings from her six-decade career, this 

exhibition explores the evolution of Barlow’s expressive 

vocabulary. Taking inspiration from her surroundings, her 

installations can be both menacing and playful. 

nfld.io/phyllb 



The List 23 


English Wine 

Week 

The Stores, Frome 


Indulge in an evening 

overflowing with 

good chat and topclass 

vinos, and learn 

a little about the everevolving 

range of 

delicious wines being 

produced across the 

British Isles while you 

quaff away. There will 

be plenty of bread 

and olives to soak up 

all that grape juice, 

so you can stay firmly 

focused on the glass 

in hand. 

nfld.io/winewk 

BBQ & Outdoor 

Eating 

Vale House 

Kitchen, Timsbury 


Say goodbye to burnt 

sausages and driedup 

burgers. Learn how 

to tame your flames 

and create a mouthwatering 

summer 

banquet courtesy of 

this course led by pro 

chef, Kieran Lenihan. 

You’ll get to grips 

with glazes, rubs and 

marinades, refine 

your sides, and take 

home a folder full of 

alfresco recipes. 

nfld.io/bbqace 

Flourish Food Festival 

Glenavon Farm, Saltford 


Prepare your appetite for two days of foodie fun at this 

tasty looking weekender. Promising a schedule packed 

full of live music, craft stalls, family-friendly activities and 

– of course – an endless supply of fresh, vibrant food, this 

freebie is one to mark in your calendar. 

nfld.io/floufest 

Wiper and True x Pasture: Summer Feast 

Wiper and True Brewery & Taproom, Bristol 


Welcome in the bounty of summer with a balmy afternoon 

filled with refreshing beer and lip-smacking barbecue 

food. At this one-off firepit collab, the Pasture team will be 

setting up a pop-up dining room and serving platters of 

succulent treats alongside pints of Wiper and True. 

nfld.io/wipepast 

Feast On 

Clifton Downs, 

Bristol 


Dive into the best 

of the Bristol food 

scene, and sample 

signature dishes and 

new concoctions 

from some of the 

city’s most beloved 

chefs. You’ll also have 

the chance to browse 

produce markets, 

watch cookery 

demos, sample 

world-class wines 

and generally gorge 

yourself silly on every 

type of cuisine you 

can imagine. 

nfld.io/feaston 

Summer Wild 

Foods & 

Practical Plants 

Oldbury Court 

Estate, Bristol 


Picture yourself 

rummaging around 

in woodlands 

and hedgerows, 

discovering which 

species of plants are 

edible and which are 

poisonous look-alikes. 

Led by horticulturalist 

Steve England, this 

informative course is 

a chance for you to 

finesse your survival 

skills and get back 

to nature. 

nfld.io/wildfood 




24 The List 

FUTURE SHOCK 

Britain’s most celebrated 

clairvoyant medium 

psychic, Clinton 

Baptiste, tries out his 

divining powers ahead of 

his appearance in Bath 

How would you describe your 

new show, Roller Ghoster? 

“I’m told by some of my 

connections beyond the celestial 

curtain that the spirit will be very, 

very strong, so I will be venturing 

into the audience to do readings 

on you all. I can promise a visit 

from my spirit guide Taruak, and 

you will hear stories of my life 

off-stage.” 

How is the tour going? 

“Really well, thank you. My third 

eye is open and shut hundreds 

of times a week, so in between 

shows I rest it on a fictional 

cushion and wipe it with 

a metaphorical cleansing bath 

at the various Travelodges I find 

myself in. I have been coming 

out after the show to meet all my 

followers in order to ‘enlighten’ 

them… of their money, next to my 

merch stand.” 

When did you first become 

aware of your clairvoyant 

abilities? 

“I was a boy. I encouraged my 

dad to put some money on the 

gee-gees, and they all came 

in. Some would say that was 

potluck. In fact, my dad used 

similar words, interspersed with 

several F-bombs, shortly after 

he retook my advice and lost all 

his savings at Kempton in March 

1983. Spirits don’t always predict 

correctly. But I believed I was 

magic and changed my name 

from Keith to Clinton – named 

after my second favourite shop in 

Bury, Clintons Cards. My favourite 

was a certain takeaway outlet, 

but ‘Chicken Cottage Baptiste’ 

sounded a bit silly.” 

There are a lot of charlatans out 

there. How do you deal with 

them? And how can audiences 

be sure you’re for real? 

“I report them to the authorities 

in the afterlife as soon as I spy 

them. I don’t have to try too hard 

to convince my audience of my 

skills nowadays, as I have been 

so accurate over the years. 

In fact, I predict here and now 

there will be at least one Aries in 

the audience at each show in the 

southwest this tour.” 

Any spiritual messages you’d 

like to share? 

“Only that the spirit world is 

generously giving you the 

once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy 

a ticket to see me. Don’t thank 

me, thank the celestial realm. Oh 

and also, John McCririck has just 

appeared at my shoulder saying, 

‘Lucky Boy in the four o’clock at 

Haydock.’* Get on it!” 

(*“It’s not me saying that, it’s John McCririck, 

ex-tipster from Channel 4 Racing. Clinton 

Baptiste cannot be responsible for betting 

advice from beyond the grave, which is your 

look out, thank you very much.”) 

Witness Roller Ghoster live at 

Komedia, Bath, on June 20. 

nfld.io/cbaptiste 



The List 25 

Summer Solstice 

Wild Wanders 

Secret location, 

Mendip District 


Celebrate the summer 

solstice with a wander 

across the Mendips. 

Gather together 

with your fellow wild 

walkers, put away 

your phones, maps 

and compasses, 

and see where your 

feet take you when 

you’re not distracted 

by reaching a set 

destination. The start 

location will be sent 

out a week before 

your adventure. 

nfld.io/wwander 

Less: Patrick Grant 

St Swithin’s 

Church, Bath 


Did your granny ever 

tell you, “buy once, 

buy well”? Well, she’d 

love Patrick Grant, 

AKA him from The 

Great British Sewing 

Bee. The fashion 

designer and founder 

of Community 

Clothing is in town 

to discuss his book, 

Less: Stop Buying So 

Much Rubbish, and 

to encourage us all 

to rediscover the joy 

of living with fewer, 

better quality things. 

nfld.io/lessthings 

PROMOTED 

BRLSI’s Brilliant Discovery Weekend 

BRLSI & Queen Square, Bath 


Join the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution 

(BRLSI) as they celebrate 200 years. They will take over 

Queen Square for a family-friendly weekend jam-packed 

with free science and crafting activities, exhibits, outdoor 

games, live music and performances, and much more. 

nfld.io/discover 

PROMOTED 

The Surf Show 

The Wave, Bristol 


The Surf Show has something for everyone – not 

just dyed-in-the-wool surfers. Taking place at Easter 

Compton’s wave park, this free, family-friendly event 

brings together surf brands and organisations for a full 

day of action and activities. (And maybe some freebies.) 

nfld.io/surfsh 

Merlin: Professor 

Ronald Hutton 

Glastonbury 

Abbey 


Want to know more 

about the world’s 

most famous 

wizard? (No, not the 

bespectacled one.) 

Separate myth from 

fact with worldrenowned 

Professor 

Ronald Hutton – 

a leading authority on 

ancient and medieval 

paganism – while 

sitting in an ancient 

structure known for 

its links to Arthurian 

legend. Magic! 

nfld.io/profron 

Cinema 

Rediscovered 

Watershed, 

Bristol 


Cinema Rediscovered 

is back for its eighth 

edition with a diverse 

programme featuring 

over 50 events, 

including a mix of 

screenings, talks, 

Q&As, workshops and 

the all-important quiz. 

Highlights include two 

UK premieres of 4K 

restorations of films 

by the Bristol-born, 

Oscar- and BAFTAnominated 

director 

J Lee Thompson. 

nfld.io/recinema 



26 Adventures 

Ready 

With the sun 

blazing and 

the chances of 

getting covered 

in mud vastly 

reduced, it’s 

time to get 

out there and 

choose your 

adventure. To 

give you an 

encouraging 

nudge, we’ve 

rounded up 

some of the 

region’s most 

knowledgeable 

adventurers 

to share their 

favourite 

outdoor capers 

WORDS F REYA PARR 

Photo: Tim Wilkey 

action? 


Adventures 27 

Cycling 

KATHERINE MOORE 

Cycling writer Katherine 

Moore specialises in 

off-road cycling and is currently 

writing Gravel Rides South West, 

a collection of routes spanning 

Cornwall to Gloucestershire. 

for 

Blazing a trail 

Bristol-based cyclist and Forever 

Pedalling owner Tim Wilkey goes 

off-road in the Mendip hills 

Gravel climbs, ancient drovers’ 

roads, peaceful forest tracks 

and fantastic pubs: this route 

around the Mendip hills is one 

of my favourites. The 60km 

route starts at Yatton station, 

with the ‘champagne gravel’ of 

the Strawberry Line cycleway 

providing an easy warm-up 

to Cheddar. Here, you tackle 

the ascent on to the Mendips 

via an off-road alternative to 

Cheddar Gorge, and follow the 

doubletrack before descending 

to the top of the Gorge road. 

Another off-road section to 

Charterhouse follows, before you 

pedal up to the twin masts and 

swoop towards Beacon Batch. 

Moorland gravel leads to forestry 

fire roads through Rowberrow, 

where a diversion to The Swan 

Inn is highly recommended. 

A series of lanes bring you back 

to Yatton via the North Somerset 

Levels after some bridleway fun 

from Wrington past Bristol Airport 

and a lesser-discovered patch of 

woodland by Brockley Combe. 

@katherinebikes 



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Adventures 29 

Hiking 

ALICE KEEGAN 

Alice is a mountain leader 

and founder of The 

Adventure Girls Club, an 

organisation she founded 

because she wanted to create 

a safe, welcoming and inclusive 

community for women and 

non-binary people to get 

together outdoors and engage 

with nature. 

Photos: Alice Keegan, Jess Baker 

My favourite route in the 

southwest begins in Shearwater 

car park, where there’s a great 

café to grab coffee and cake. 

You then follow the edge of 

Shearwater lake into Longleat 

Forest, where you’ll find some 

of the oldest giant redwoods in 

the UK. You can also walk over to 

Heaven’s Gate – a perfect sunset 

spot with views over Longleat. 

You can make this walk as long 

or as short as you like, and the 

Shearwater section is suitable 

for wheelchair users and prams. 

There are no stiles on the walk 

and there is very little elevation, 

which makes it a great beginner’s 

route. In the summer, the forest 

is full of lush green ferns and 

colourful rhododendrons, and in 

the autumn you get a great 

selection of fungi. 

www.theadventuregirls.club 

Out of it 

Alice Keegan is dazzled 

by giant redwoods (top), 

while Jess Baker rests up 

during one of her many 

two-wheel adventures 

“A recent bikepacking trip I’ve 

loved was a simple midweek 

overnighter – I love squeezing 

these adventures into every 

corner of life” 

Bikepacking 

JESS BAKER 

Jess Baker is the co-founder of Loop 

Bikepacking Bristol – a not-for-profit 

equipment rental service which aims to 

reduce barriers to bikepacking by removing 

the financial burden of buying all the gear. 

They also lead community weekend trips. 

A recent bikepacking trip I’ve loved was 

a simple midweek overnighter – I love 

squeezing these adventures into every corner 

of life. We set off after work around sunset 

and headed towards Clevedon. It was 

a gorgeously warm evening and cycling as 

the light faded was so peaceful. We had a dip 

in Clevedon Marine Lake before sharing tea 

and the food we’d all brought. To keep our 

equipment to a minimum, we opted to sleep 

in hammocks in a nearby woodland, which 

was incredible. The next morning started 

with breakfast and another swim, before we 

cycled back to Bristol in time for work. (I can’t 

guarantee I was completely on time, oops!) 

@loopbikepacking 



30 Adventures 

Trail running 

JAY MEDWAY 

Jay Medway is an ultrarunner and the 

founder of the Left Handed Giant Run 

Club, which she set up in 2019 as an antidote 

to off-putting competitive clubs. 

There are so many runs from Bristol city 

centre you can do in normal trainers with just 

a bottle of water in your backpack. If I want to 

go for a trail run after work, I head out of town 

along the Pill Path and up through Nightingale 

Valley. This is a killer hill, so you could miss it 

out by parking up at Leigh Woods. The woods 

change with the seasons: you get a couple 

of hot days and spring is blooming, with wild 

garlic coming out. In winter, it becomes a slipand-slide. 

You can follow the mountain bike 

tracks or walking paths, or go off-piste and 

make your own routes. There’s a lush downhill 

into Paradise Bottom, where you’ll find the 

‘grotto’ and look out over the Avon. I then 

head back up to the car park and out into the 

wide-open fields of Abbots Leigh. Keep an eye 

out for The Priory on Manor Road – a beautiful 

Tudor Gothic house with an orangery. After 

you’ve run by Abbots Pool, you’re back into 

Ashton Court. It’s amazing to have all these 

trails in the middle of the city: no cars, a bit of 

escapism and some great views. 

@jaytotheski @lhgrunclub 

Photos: Claire Sharpe, David Altabev 

Cycling 

CLAIRE SHARPE 

Claire Sharpe is the founder of the 

women-led All Terre Adventures 

community and the creator of The Bristol 

Rally – a 300km bikepacking event that 

starts and finishes in Bristol. 

One of my favourite gravel loops involves 

leaving Bristol on the Bristol and Bath Railway 


Adventures 31 

“It’s short, it’s sweet, 

and it’s doable in an 

hour and lets you get 

out of your head” 

Path and turning off towards Upton 

Cheyney. You’ll then hit a fun (but long) 

climb that goes from tarmac to gravel to 

field, before arriving at Lansdown Golf Club for 

a breathtaking view – one of many to stop at 

and enjoy a snack. There are lots of options 

from here, but my favourite is the Langridge 

bridleway, a gradual, rocky descent with 

fields of wildflowers growing on either side in 

summer. From there, I loop back to Bristol via 

Grandmother’s Rock Lane – and yes, it is rocky! 

You can skirt Cleave Lane Quarry and head for 

Pucklechurch to take the Black Lane bridleway 

for more traffic-free riding. Then it’s back to 

the bike path to cruise easily into Bristol. 

@clairesharpe @allterre 

Cycling 

ADAM BECKET 

Adam Becket is the news editor of 

Cycling Weekly. He’s also a member of 

Newtown Park Cycle Club, and the Left 

Handed Giant and Queen Square run clubs. 

Shake some action 

Clockwise from above: 

Adam Becket blows out 

the cobwebs; Claire 

Sharpe, with her All Terre 

Adventures crew; Jay 

Medway hits the trails 

When the going gets tough inside my head, 

I like to go for a quick ride to clear my mind. 

Fortunately, I live in south Bristol, so the 

countryside isn’t too far away. Just 10 minutes 

on the bike sees me in the lanes around 

Nailsea, and on a good day, it isn’t too busy 

with traffic. From North Street, head out 

towards Long Ashton through Ashton Court 

along the gravel at the bottom, or along the 

A370 if you’re brave. Once you’ve worked your 

way up the mild inclines out of Bristol and 

into North Somerset, head towards Nailsea, 

either on the main road through Wraxall, 



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Adventures 33 

or along the railway path. Don’t 

head into Nailsea itself, but turn 

left towards Backwell, past the 

station. If you’re feeling fast, head 

back on the A370, or just go back 

on the cycle path. It’s short, it’s 

sweet, and it’s doable in an hour 

and lets you get out of your head. 

@adambecket 

Hiking 

STEVE MELIA 

Steve Melia is a Visiting 

Fellow at the Centre for 

Transport and Society at UWE. 

He is an environmental 

campaigner, author, one-time 

Lib Dem parliamentary 

candidate and recently founded 

Railwalks – a website offering 

crowd-sourced walking routes 

from British train stations. 

Cycle the Strawberry 

Line – a familyfriendly, 

trafficfree 

path from the 

Mendips to the sea. 

thestrawberryline. 

org.uk 

Nature’s cure 

Aggie Nyagari-Salt revels 

in the tranquility of 

Conham River Park 

Swimming 

AGGIE NYAGARI-SALT 

Aggie Nyagari-Salt is a Bristol-based 

film and TV director, outdoor 

swimming evangelist and the co-producer of 

Rave On for the Avon – a film about the 

swimming community at Conham River Park 

and its fight to win bathing water status. 

I discovered Conham River Park during 

lockdown and fell in love with the swimming 

spot opposite Beeses Bar. Now we live nearby. 

It’s breathtakingly beautiful, serene and 

magical – even the walk through the woods 

to get there is special. The swim community 

there is such a warm, welcoming and diverse 

group, so I had to be part of sharing the 

story of the river, and the people who love it, 

need it and are fighting for it. I hope the film 

galvanises people to protect the river and 

inspires more folks to get out and enjoy it. 

@raveonfortheavon @conhambathing 

Photo: Charlotte Sawyer (Rave On for the Avon director) 

Bradford-on-Avon to 

Chippenham is one of my 

favourite walking routes between 

stations, because there are 

several choices. One goes 

through the picture postcard 

village of Lacock right into the 

centre of Chippenham, or if 

you stay a bit further west, you 

can go through the grounds of 

Corsham Court, where you might 

catch a peacock looking over 

your shoulder. Like many of the 

best railway walks, this crosses 

between two lines, which can 

make it more expensive if you’re 

returning via a different route. 

To avoid this, buy a return to 

Melksham (even if you don’t go 

there), because it’ll be valid for 

both journeys. 

www.railwalks.co.uk 



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Adventures 35 

Swimming 

KATE REW 

Kate Rew knows a thing 

or two about wild dipping 

– she’s the founder of The 

Outdoor Swimming Society and 

her Outdoor Swimmers’ 

Handbook is an indispensable 

guide to keeping safe in the 

water. We asked Kate for her 

favourite local swim, and why 

people have been protesting for 

the right to swim up and down 

the country. 

Photo: The Outdoor Swimming Society 

There aren’t heaps of places to 

swim where I live, near Bath, 

and most are upstream of weirs, 

the places that gather enough 

water to swim in. A place that is 

lovely to swim in is Farleigh and 

District Swimming Club, where 

it’s £25 for a family of six to join 

for a year. It’s such a rare thing, to 

have a farmer who allows you on 

his land and has a whole system 

set up for it. For anyone feeling 

more athletic, I love swimming 

from Dundas Aqueduct down 

to Warleigh Weir. If you take 

a tow float with a towelling robe 

and some flip-flops you can walk 

back to the start. 

Somerset would really benefit 

from having the right to swim 

in reservoirs. We’re not blessed 

with natural lakes and we don’t 

Find running camaraderie with 

Bath’s Dead Leg Run Club, every 

Thursday from 5.45pm. There are 

beers after. @deadlegrunclub 

Marcruss Outdoors 

177-181 Hotwell Rd, Bristol 

This family-run outdoor shop 

has been going since 1968, 

which means its three floors 

of army surplus, boots, tents 

and wet weather kit comes 

with time-tested approval. 

Nomad Supply Store 

7 Catherine Hill, Frome 

An exceptionally well-stocked 

indie touting top-tier kit and 

apparel from around the 

world (Danner, Filson, YETI, 

Snow Peak, Gorewear), plus 

nifty backpacking tents. 

KIT AND CABOODLE 

Bath Outdoors 

Miles St, Bath 

Under the arches you’ll 

find this outdoor gem run 

by Darroch Davidson, who 

stocks all the best kit he uses 

on his own escapades. He 

also leads adventures with 

wildswimbikerun.com. 

The Bike Drop 

Brinscombe Mill, Stroud 

If you’re starting out and don’t 

want to spend a fortune on 

a new bike, this community 

project will have a refurbished 

one just for you. 



36 Adventures 

Photo: The Outdoor Swimming Society, Tim Wilkey, Dan Raven-Ellison 

have river pools everywhere, so 

we would love greater access 

to the water bodies we do have. 

Not paid access. People love 

swimming because it makes 

us part of nature, it’s freeing. 

The experience changes if you 

have to do it within the hours of 

nine and five, and pay £7 for the 

privilege. It loses its integrity… 

It’s become a real cultural thing – 

you stop swimmers because they 

might get into difficulties. But 

nothing in life is without risk 

and the key to unpacking that 

danger is to teach people how 

to swim, and to make the things 

you need to stay safe public 

knowledge… We have to move 

some of the locus of control back 

on to ourselves. 

outdoorswimmingsociety.com 

“People love swimming 

because it makes us part 

of nature, it’s freeing” 

Fight for your right 

Kate Rew and some 

fellow swimmers make 

their point (above); 

Tim Wilkey (right) in 

his happy place on the 

gravel trails of North 

Somerset 

PATHFINDERS 

Slow Ways founder Dan Raven-Ellison 

encourages us to get involved with the 

Great Slow Ways Summer Waycheck 

“Slow Ways is a citizen project to create 

a national walking network connecting 

all of Britain’s towns, cities and 

landscapes. But it’s not just a walking 

network. It’s a network for boosting 

health, imagination, relationships, 

creativity, climate action and all the 

good things that can happen when we 

walk. Not enough people are feeling 

these benefits, as routes for walking, 

wheeling and running are often not 

easily accessed or reliable enough. 

“We’re changing that by sharing 

good ways to go. So far, people have 

suggested over 9,000 routes. We now 

need people from every town and city 

to help check if they are good enough 

for others to enjoy. A great time to help 

is during the Great Slow Ways Summer 

Waycheck, from June 15-24.” 

For more information, 

visit slowways.org 


Adventures 37 

Cycling 

TIM WILKEY 

A lifelong cyclist born 

and bred in Bristol, Tim 

Wilkey can usually be found on 

bikes, or beside them, fixing 

gears and cogs at his workshop 

Forever Pedalling. 

One of my all-time favourite rides 

is a 100km mixed-terrain loop 

that starts with some challenging 

climbs through Bourton Combe 

and skirts the lanes next to Bristol 

Airport. You then head out on 

farm tracks for some more climbs 

(there’s no shame in walking 

these), up to the highest point in 

the Mendips, the Beacon Batch 

trig point. Once you’ve checked 

out the views – as far as Wales 

on a good day – you’ll follow fast 

gravel descents towards Cheddar 

Reservoir and the village of 

Axbridge, a prime spot for a pub 

lunch. A riot of dirt tracks and 

bridleways bring you back to the 

city and Ashton Court, where you 

can add in a lap of the mountain 

bike trails before riding over the 

Suspension Bridge and down to 

the harbour for a cold one. 

foreverpedalling.com 



Camping 39 

CHANGE 

YOUR 

PITCH 

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spots for the summer, all 

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Bath and Bristol 

WORDS NATALIE PARIS 



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Camping Festivals 41 

There’s no better way to lose yourself in 

nature than a camping trip. But if memories of 

cobweb-lined toilet blocks leave you icky, take 

heart in the knowledge that, these days, the 

loveliest camping and glamping spots strive 

for much more than this. What follows are 

some of the most appealing campsites (and 

not-quite-campsites) in the region. 

CRAFTSMAN’S CABIN, 

SOMERSET 

Photo: Dave Watts 

With views across the Somerset 

Levels, this single cabin has 

vintage-chic interiors and 

rocking chairs on the decking. 

It lies close to a thriving 

village pub and provides a real 

connection to the land, with 

furniture and homeware – such 

as sycamore bowls, ceramics 

and willow lampshades – made 

by local artisans. Workshops 

on woodturning and stone 

carving can be arranged. Firepit 

suppers can be provided and 

a map details walks along 

ancient rhynes (or drainage 

canals, for those without arcane 

knowledge). From £170 a night. 

craftsmanscabin.co.uk 



42 Camping 

CAMPWELL, 

WILTSHIRE 

Photo: Felix Russell-Saw 

Reconnect with 

friends and nature 

at one of Campwell’s 

sister sites – one on a farm, the other in 

woods. Both sit in countryside outside 

Bath and offer opportunities for yurt 

yoga, lake swimming and woodland 

saunas. These are sociable spaces, with 

camp kitchens where you can share food 

and talk. Campwell Woods has rustic 

cabins tucked among trees. The farm 

site, meanwhile, is dotted with bell tents, 

and is good for groups. From £99 a night. 

campwell.co.uk 

WOOKEY FARM, 

SOMERSET 

Some of Somerset’s best 

attractions lie near this 

sprawling, relaxed site. The 

city of Wells is less than a 10-minute drive away, 

Cheddar Gorge is close for walking or rock 

climbing, and on rainy days, campers can descend 

into the caverns at Wookey Hole. This goat farm 

has animals to pet and there is a gentle section of 

the River Axe to paddle in. There’s also a communal 

campfire, while pitches are in an open meadow or 

among trees. From £16 a night. wookeyfarm.com 

STOWFORD MANOR 

FARM, WILTSHIRE 

Behind a golden-stone manor 

house and beside the UK’s 

oldest river swimming club, this 

popular site gets busy in summer but is always 

a treat. A stretch of the River Frome runs past the 

camping field, with shallows for paddling in, then, 

further along, steps for all-weather swimmers to 

wade in. Campers can enjoy cream teas in the 

café, and pizzas during summer. For a bit of luxury, 

try the converted railway carriage. From £18 

a night. stowfordmanorfarm.co.uk 


Camping 43 

Photo: Brett Charles 

REWILD THINGS, 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

The six treehouse cabins on the Elmore Court 

Estate are clad in British cedar and connected via 

winding walkways. Their sleek kitchens are 

outdoors, under shelter, so more time can be spent under the tree 

canopy. Tin and copper baths make the most of leafy views and there 

is a log burner inside each cabin. Wander the estate and note the 

returning wildlife, as well as the spring-fed pond and sauna for private 

swimming sessions. Mindfulness and foraging classes can be booked. 

From £250 a night. rewildthings.com 



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Camping Festivals 45 

CHEW VALLEY 

HILLTOP, SOMERSET 

BRANDIERS FARM, 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

For silence and stonking views, 

those with their own bathroom 

can consider this site atop the 

Mendips. You are guaranteed 

exclusivity with a campervan, motorhome or 

caravan, as this is a Wild With Consent site, where 

landowners grant permission for single pitches 

in remote countryside. As these are not regular 

campsites, don’t expect any facilities, but the 

sunrises are fiery over Chew Valley, and Blagdon, 

with its pubs and lake walks, is two miles away. 

£25 a night, £20 for an additional van. 

wildwithconsent.com 

Expect festival-style fun at 

this quirky glamping site. 

Choose between a vintage VW 

campervan, a bell tent or a luxury Bedouin tent, 

all set on rewilded land. A horse trailer has been 

converted into a shared bathroom and the lake has 

a bar full of upcycled furniture. Couples can take 

a rowing boat onto the lake or relax at the camp’s 

storytelling circle – a professional storyteller lives 

on site. There is even an outdoor bed for gazing up 

at the stars. From £120 a night. hipcamp.com 

Photo: thatcopyshop 

DOWLAIS FARM, 

SOMERSET 

This intimate orchard site in 

Clevedon has just five pitches. 

Campers wishing to pitch up will 

need to become members of The Greener Camping 

Club, an organisation that champions sustainability 

and only accepts high-quality, eco-conscious 

campsites. It has sheep, free-range chickens and 

direct access to the sea, with Clevedon’s pier and 

marine lake a stroll away. Snuggle around the 

communal campfire at night. From £25 a night, 

for two adults. greenercamping.org 



46 Rockaway Park 

WORDS GARY TIPP 

PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BECK 

We hitch a ride to Rockaway Park – the radical art commune nestled halfway between 

Bath and Bristol – to meet the brains behind the operation, Mark Wilson 


Rockaway Park 47 




ack in the day, Mark Wilson, founder of creative arts hub Rockaway Park, was the 

frontman in a Yeovil-based punk band. Formed in 1978, The Mob weren’t a punk outfit like 

Sex Pistols or The Clash, but rather they pogoed down the ideological path of anarchopunk, 

a fiercely anti-corporate subgenre with a strong creative DIY ethic. Bands in this 

polemical scene – most notably Crass and the tubthumping Chumbawamba – were committed to bringing 

about political and social change, and weren’t averse to inciting chaos while they were at it. 

An initial inspection of Rockaway Park, from 

the political slogans and freaky car-wreck 

sculptures lurking in hedges to the corrugated 

workshops and graffitied cabins, suggests 

Mark’s anarcho-punk roots are still showing. 

And sitting down to chat with him about the 

origins and ideals of his anarchic art space 

quickly confirms this. 

“I was thinking the other day how things 

have come full circle, and the beliefs I held 

as a young kid in a punk band largely still 

ring true,” says Mark. “It’s always been about 

more than just the music for me. Everybody 

was wearing an anarchy symbol and shouting 

‘smash the state’ during the punk days, but 

many of us believed it and still do.” 

It’s not hard to reach 

Rockaway Park, formerly the site of a quarry 

turned scrapyard, nestles in a pretty part of 

the Somerset countryside near the village of 

Temple Cloud in the Somer Valley, between 

Bath and Bristol. It’s not the sort of location 

you’d typically associate with an anarchoarts 

commune, but this part of the world has, 

believes Mark, always been open to a spot of 

creative chaos. “As I see it, the West Country 

encourages community. There’s this feeling 

that anything is possible. There’s a certain 



50 Rockaway Park 

element of lawlessness and that merges 

nicely with the general vibe of looking after 

each other.” 

Attracted by the “lovely trees and squirrels”, 

Mark relocated his post-band van-breaking 

business here in 2001 to avoid Bristol’s 

hefty rents. It was a move that, by his own 

admission, shot him in the foot. “This was the 

only scrap site I ever saw for sale and I moved 

without any real thought about how people 

were going to travel here from the M4 and M5. 

In north Bristol, we were easy to access, but 

not so much here in the middle of nowhere. 

Deep in my heart, I probably knew I was 

ruining the business by moving here.” 

Out of the wreckage of his 2011 bankruptcy, 

after which he was able to hold on to the site 

by the skin of his teeth, Mark decided to act 

on an idea that had been percolating. “I knew 

I didn’t want to be part of a business any 

more, and what I really wanted was to build 

some kind of creative, inspirational facility. 

Problem was, I had no real idea how.” 

Subversive delights 

Mark rented out the first creative space to 

Rowdy, the street artist, in 2015, and it took 

off from there. More creatives moved in and 

Rockaway Park developed into what it is 

today. Mark was keen to explain his rationale: 

“I made a decision early on that we wouldn’t 

take anyone on if they were doing tedious 

work. I didn’t want anybody repairing cars. It 

had to be creative. It was driven by the desire 

to form a vibrant community of like-minded 

souls, and that’s what we have here now.” 



Sparks of life 

Rockaway’s allwomen 

metalwork 

workshop, Creative 

RevolutionHERies, gets 

underway (above); 

punky, anything-goes 

creativity litters the park 

at every turn 

But as a creative enclave, Rockaway Park 

is nothing if not inclusive, and the site has 

a trug-load of subversive delights to offer 

curious visitors. Gigs (yes, mostly punk), 

festivals, film screenings, and art and 

photography exhibitions are regular, plentiful 

and often surprising. Jaz Coleman from Killing 

Joke once ran a supper club at the site, the 

documentary films of former Chumbawamba 

man Dunstan Bruce have been screened, and 

Chris Packham is scheduled to talk at 

a wildlife activism event supported by Lucky 

Number singer Lene Lovich (August 4). 

Workshops and onsite courses are another 

way for Rockaway Park to engage with the 

local community. Many of the workshops 

are run by the park’s resident artists, eager 

to pass on their skills. A recent project, 

ONCE AN 

ANARCHIST… 

“In life, there’s always 

people saying it’s not 

going to work. It’s 

my belief you can do 

whatever you want, 

you just need to get on 

with it. My response to 

naysayers is, ‘Will those 

that say it can’t be done 

please stand clear of 

those that are doing 

it.’ It’s something I’ve 

said for years and it’s 

plastered all over our 

merch. I thought it was 

my quote, until recently 

when I saw something 

on the internet that 

was really similar and 

I thought to myself, 

‘You’ve just copied it off 

of there, haven’t you?’ 

It doesn’t matter. 

Who cares? It’s my 

quote now.” 

Mark Wilson, Rockaway 

Park founder 



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Julia Othmer and 

Crass pianist Carol 

Hodge perform live 

after a songwriting 

workshop. 

One for the Animals 

August 4 

Wildlife activism 

with Chris Packham 

and Lene Lovich. 

Unrest 

August 17 

An all-day punk fest 

hosted by charming 

Bristol promoters 

Shitty Futures. 

Sunday Sessions 

Book in for one of the 

Park’s famous Sunday 

Sessions, featuring 

vegan roasts and 

entertainment. 

Find more Rockaway events at nfld.io/rockpk 

Creative RevolutionHERies, provided a sixweek 

workshop in metalwork and welding 

for young women, while a course on festival 

set design and construction is in the pipeline. 

(The creative mastermind behind Glastonbury 

Festival’s Shangri-La area, Kaye Dunnings, is 

another of the park’s residents.) 

Another jewel in Rockaway’s crusty crown 

is its ramshackle vegan café. Famed for its 

Sunday roasts, everything is home-cooked 

and made with fresh, ethically sourced 

ingredients, as well as produce harvested 

from the park’s ever-expanding Community 

Forest Garden – which explains the ‘Mad Max 

meets The Good Life’ description that’s often 

used to explain the site to the uninitiated. 

Congregation of agitation 

One of the more prominent buildings in 

Rockaway’s main courtyard is the Chapel of 

Unrest – a large semi-corrugated structure 

with open ventilation and a huge sculpted 

anarchy ‘A’ as its focal point. The chapel is, 

loosely, Somer Valley’s rebellious equivalent 

of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, and is also 

a bone of contention with the local council, 

who wanted to charge business rates on the 

structure. Mark’s response was to declare the 

building a church (there had been a wedding 

ceremony held there previously) and therefore 

exempt from higher levels of tax. 

Mark completes the story: “The council came 

back to us saying you can’t have a church 

without an organised religion. I googled ‘What 

constitutes a recognised religion?’ and the 

first thing to come up was the need for 60,000 

followers. After further inspection it turns out 

that was complete bollocks, but I felt it didn’t 

matter and if I could get 60,000 people to join 

the church and for them to give me a tenner 

each to join, or £20 with a T-shirt option, I’d 

have somewhere between £600,000 and £1.2 

million, and then I can really build a fucking 

church.” Now that’s anarchy in action. 



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Rewilding 55 

Photo: Boys in Bristol Photography 

NATURAL HIGH 

Rewilding comes in many different forms and isn’t just taking place on vast estates 

like Knepp or in the Scottish Highlands – it is happening all around us 

WORDS ALEXIA LOUNDRAS 



56 Rewilding 

Photos: Boys in Bristol Photography, Stephanie Chadwick 

here’s a quiet rebellion afoot 

here in the southwest, where 

trowels are drawn in place of 

pitchforks. Out fighting on street 

verges and forgotten yards, 

amid discreet planters and 

urban squares, a growing army 

of guerilla troops are throwing 

seed bombs onto neglected 

spaces, sowing the wildflowers 

which will bring the insects, 

the birds and all the other 

bounties of biodiversity, and 

help resurrect our manicured, 

emasculated land. 

“It’s better to ask for forgiveness 

than permission,” says Stephanie 

Sharkey. “At the end of summer, 

I collect handfuls of seeds from 

flowers and throw them onto 

my local patch, then enjoy all 

the poppies and things the next 

spring. It’s lovely.” 

Steph is more than a seedchucking 

footsoldier for this 

inspiring mission. As Nextdoor 

Nature communications and 

engagement officer for the Avon 

Wildlife Trust, she’s working hard 


Rewilding 57 

Wild things 

Poppies growing wild after 

a campaign of end-of-summer 

seed bombing; a particularly 

well-stocked insect hotel; and 

a very happy member of the 

wildlife community 

to enlist others to the Trust’s 

urgent cause to enrich our 

depleting biodiversity. 

“Our goal is to make one in four 

people take action for nature,” 

she explains. “Only then can we 

create a tipping point where we 

can reverse the impacts we’ve 

had on the natural world.” The 

Trust wants to galvanise whole 

communities into joining its Team 

Wilder initiative, creating what 

Steph calls “nature action zones”. 

“The Nextdoor Nature project 

is about connecting people 

with wildlife, but in a new way,” 

she says. “It’s about listening to 

communities and what they 

want – harnessing the passion 

that is there – and then helping 

them deliver that project. But 

the ideas have to come from 

the community.” 

There are now communities 

taking part all over our region. 

From village regeneration 

projects in Paulton on the 

northern edge of the Mendips, 

to permaculture-inspired 

gardens in Thornbury, South 

Gloucestershire, and urban 

projects in Bristol’s Redcliffe, 

Lockleaze and Barton Hill 

neighbourhoods, where 

communal planters have been 

turned into wildflower gardens 

and vegetable patches. 

“We’ve found that these little 

community enterprises are 

helping to make people see 

where they live in a whole new 

way,” says Steph. “It changes the 

narrative of their area – which 

might sometimes feel a bit 

ignored. We’re helping them 

Photos: Jed Gordan-Moran 

LAW OF 

THE LAND 

Head of PR and 

partnerships at Frome’s 

42 Acres, Alicia Holden, 

explains the retreat’s 

agriwilding concept 

“A lot of what we do 

is about observing 

and responding to 

what the land tells us, 

working with native 

plants and animals, and 

establishing ways to live 

in harmony with them. 

It weaves together food 

production, personal 

growth and rewilding, 

and its intention is 

in finding harmony 

between nature, self 

and others. Our current 

agriwilding projects 

include bee-centric 

beekeeping, creating 

a ‘no dig’ produce 

garden, wild tending 

a native mushroom 

farm, crafting an edible 

ornamental garden and 

planting approximately 

7,000 edible hedges. We 

also share our land with 

wild boar and beavers!” 

Discover 42 Acres’ 

retreats and workshops. 

nfld.io/42acres 



Rewilding 59 

GET INVOLVED 

Middle Ground Growers 

Weston Spring Farm, 

Bath 

Get your hands dirty on 

volunteering days at this 

sustainable 16-acre market 

garden. Every Tuesday. 

middlegroundgrowers.com/ 

getinvolved 

Forest of Avon Trust 

Various sites 

Join in the Trust’s 

community-focused and 

educational orchard work 

days across Bristol and Bath. 

forestofavontrust.org 

Belmont Estate 

Wraxall, Bristol 

Reconnect with nature 

at this estate committed 

to reversing biodiversity 

loss through regenerative 

farming and rewilding. 

belmont.estate/ 

community-volunteer 

Avon Needs Trees 

Hazeland Wood, Calne 

Help out at Avon Needs 

Trees’ new community tree 

nursery (June 30, July 20). 

They also run tree care days 

at Great Avon Wood sites. 

volunteer. 

avonneedstress.org.uk 

change their story; they feel they 

live somewhere to be proud of 

and appreciate looking after the 

wildlife and communal green 

space together.” 

This empowering, close 

contact with nature can be 

hugely beneficial. Since first 

volunteering with the Avon 

Wildlife Trust over 14 months ago, 

Emma Young is now one of their 

Team Wilder Champions, running 

workshops in the community in 

and around Thornbury, helping 

to inspire others to work for 

wildlife – and for themselves. 

Emma applies the principles of 

permaculture to her Team Wilder 

work: care of the Earth, care of 

people and ‘fair share’, which 

entails looking to see what nature 

wants and helping it along, for 

the benefit of all. 

“Being outside – watching and 

working with nature, helping it 

grow – has definitely had a very 

positive effect on my mental 

health,” says Emma. “I’m trying 

to do my own little bit towards 

giving something back to nature 

after we’ve taken so much.” 

Jan Stannard, founder and acting 

CEO of Heal, knows how vital this 

feeling of empowerment is, both 

for the nature we tend to, and for 

us: “The hardest thing for some 

people right now is the feeling of 

helplessness,” she says. 

After a 40-year business career, 

Jan was also moved to try to 

give something back to the land, 

and in 2020, established Heal as 

a way to make a difference to 

nature. The aim of the charity 

is to buy 500-acre plots of 

land in each of the 48 counties 

in England and return them 

to nature. The Somerset site, 

situated in Witham Friary 

amid beautifully undulating 



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Rewilding 61 

countryside, is Heal’s first 

rewilding site. 

“What people have been 

used to up until now, is land 

conservation, protecting what 

fragments of nature are left,” 

explains Jan. “But what we want 

to do is create new places for 

nature to thrive. This is new.” 

The idea behind Heal is simple: 

allow nature the time and 

space to rebuild functioning 

ecosystems – helping, if 

necessary, to put back the things 

that are missing. Visitors to the 

site will be able to see wildlife 

flourish. From the abundance 

of birds to small mammals like 

shrews, but also deer, otters and 

now beavers. Those who sponsor 

a three-by-three-metre square 

on the land will get a detailed 

report on the flora and fauna 

living there and learn about the 

flourishing mini-ecosystems. 

“We know we can have a positive 

impact on biodiversity by doing 

very little at all” 

In just a short time, the land on 

Heal’s Somerset site has begun to 

recover. “We know we can have 

a positive impact on biodiversity 

by doing very little at all,” says 

Jan. And the same principles 

that govern this large-scale 

project can also work in our own 

communities; in fact, there are 

so many more habitats in a small 

garden than acres of agricultural 

land. So sow native wildflowers, 

leave your grass long, lay out 

broken branches, suggests Jan. 

“Nature is not neat – messy 

and untidy are all wonderful for 

nature. It’s a great excuse not to 

do any gardening!” 

F E S S I O N A L L Y 

In the midst of our current 

climate and biodiversity crisis, it’s 

hard to imagine how these small 

gestures – in window boxes, 

back gardens and playing 

fields – can even begin to make 

a difference. But like Jan, Steph 

at the Avon Wildlife Trust is quick 

to disagree: “If you just give 

nature a helping hand, it will 

come. It really doesn’t take much 

to begin to bring wildlife into our 

lives.” But, she adds passionately, 

doing something is key. 

“There’s this idea of shifting 

baselines, where people get so 

used to their environment that 

they don’t even realise what has 

gone,” she says. “There used 

to be starlings over Bristol, all 

around Temple Meads, before 

my lifetime. And nobody misses 

them because they don’t 

remember them ever being 

there. It’s really important that we 

redraw our expectations.” 

Making a difference couldn’t 

be easier. “We just need to go 

outside and engage with nature,” 

she says. “As soon as you find 

others taking action it really does 

give you hope. We can solve this 

crisis – it is in our grasp.” Seed 

bombs at the ready, everyone. 

Join Avon Wildlife Trust’s 

Team Wilder project at 

avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/teamwilder-community, 

or take 

part in one of Heal Somerset’s 

workshops or tours nfld.io/heal 



62 Carnivals 

L 

OWORDS 

GEORGIE 

BELL, EMMA 

COX, JESS 

GRUNDY 

Meet the carnival makers and performers who put everything into 

Photo: Matt Whiteley 


Carnivals 63 

V E 

bringing good times and unity to the southwest’s streets every summer 


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Carnival 65 

It’s official – summer carnival 

season is upon us. Bristol 

Pride, Bath Carnival and St 

Pauls’ Back A Yard are all set 

to take over streets, squares 

and neighbourhoods across 

both cities in June and July, 

turning up the colour and the 

volume with a riot of costumes 

and music. In the run-up to 

this year’s events, we’ve been 

meeting a few of the organisers, 

performers and soundsystem 

operators who help make the 

magic happen. 

On the move 

The Bath Carnival 

procession marches 

on Great Pulteney Street 

Bath Carnival 

Photos: Lucy Baker Photography, Jamie Bellinger 

ath Carnival 

doesn’t do things 

by halves. This 

year’s event will 

once again bring 

Bath to a standstill with a vibrant, 

winding procession of 

community groups, school kids, 

charities and performers, all 

stepping to an insistent samba 

beat. But that’s not all. There’s 

also an all-day festival in Sydney 

Gardens and an after-party at 

Komedia for anyone who hasn’t 

already wilted. It’s all quite an 

achievement for an arts 

organisation navigating an 

increasingly arid funding 

landscape. Project coordinator 

Stu Matson – who also leads Bath 

Carnival’s Twert Lush project, 

which returns to Twerton High 

Street on September 1 – explains 

the state of play. 

“Without a doubt, we’ve booked 

our best music lineup to date 

this year. On the BWCE Main 

Stage we’ve got TC & The Groove 

Family featuring Franz Von – 

a high-tempo 10-piece exploring 

highlife, breakbeat and jungle. 

Dub and reggae will have a big 

presence thanks to Biggles’ 

Sound, The Golden Guild 

and Bob Marley Revival, and 

Suedejazz Collective, Matuki and 

Carnaval Transatlãntico will bring 

contemporary jazz, Afrobeat 

and samba respectively. It goes 

without saying, though, that the 

procession is the highlight. At its 

best, it is an incredible example 

of a community coming together 

to celebrate local diversity and 

creative talent. 

“Collaborating with local 

schools and groups, like Achieve 

Together, Mencap, Black Families 

Education Support Group 



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Carnivals 67 

STEP TO THE BEAT 

Jamma de Samba’s Robbie 

Verrecchia casts his mind 

back to launching the first 

Bath Carnival in 2013 

“It was very DIY. It was 

under the radar because 

people didn’t know what 

I was doing. I didn’t have to 

put up fencing or get loads 

of security. It was just 

a thing in Victoria Park that 

I got permission to do. 

I created it because 

I wanted to share an 

experience I had in Brazil. 

The best thing about 

Carnival, is it creates 

a platform for any age, any 

ability, any person.” 

and Mentoring Plus, is central 

to what we do, and our creative 

workshops are a big part of this. 

We were due to deliver hundreds 

of hours of music, costumemaking, 

puppetry, dance, and 

arts and craft workshops in 

and around the area. But our 

reduced funding this year 

means our artists will have less 

of a presence in the community 

ahead of Carnival. 

“Since setting up Bath Carnival 

11 years ago, the funding 

landscape for arts projects 

has changed massively, with 

increasing numbers of applicants 

bidding for ever-decreasing 

funds. Our Carnival project 

costs more than £150,000 per 

year. Arts Council England’s 

Lottery Projects Grants have 

played an essential role up 

to now, but in April we found 

out this year’s application was 

unsuccessful. We’ve secured 

enough emergency investment 

to keep the event alive in 2024, 

but our community outreach has 

taken a huge hit. Moving forward, 

we need to find new ways to fund 

this vital work, because when 

events like ours vanish, it hurts 

the local creative ecosystem. We 

can’t let that happen.” 

Support Bath Carnival at 

localgiving.org/charity/ 

bathcarnival. This year’s 

event takes place on July 13. 

nfld.io/bathcarn 

Bristol Pride 

very June and 

July, Bristol 

embellishes its 

streets with 

rainbow flags 

and glittering costumes to 

celebrate Pride with the LGBTQ+ 

community, and create an 

inclusive space where everyone 

feels safe to express themselves. 

Programming and partnerships 

director Daryn Carter has seen 

Bristol Pride grow from small 

beginnings in 2009 into a twoweek 

fiesta embracing 150-plus 

volunteers, a Pride march, a boat 

party and theatre productions 

representing, says Daryn, “the 

diversity within the diversity”. 

“With performances at Pride, 

I look at what the audience is 

going to take away from it and 

what the message of Pride is,” 

says Daryn. “Does it tell a story 

and talk about issues without 

stereotyping? I always look for 

the message of hope with our 

pieces; that’s my balance.” 

Since 2019, Bristol Pride has 

hosted its all-day curtain-closer 

on the Downs, and this year 

crashes the flamboyance-ometre 

with a lineup spanning 



68 Carnivals 

Photo: Dan Well 

HOLBURNE PRIDE 

The Holburne Museum, 

Bath; June 14-15 

The Holburne Future 

Collective is joining forces 

with Bath Arts Collective 

for a weekend of queer arts 

and culture, featuring silent 

discos, zine workshops, 

films, talks and a big Pride 

party featuring southwest 

drag stars including 

Diomede, Cynthia Road 

and Spank. 

nfld.io/bathpride 

The Human League, Ladytron, 

Claire from Steps, a punky mix of 

storytelling, circus and puppetry, 

and a NSFW cabaret stage 

featuring the very best of drag. 

Joining superstars Heidi N Closet 

and Drag Race star Pixie Polite 

at the festival is Bath’s own drag 

king Diomede. They may be 

a fresh face on the scene, but 

this self-described “big theatre 

kid” has already made waves in 

the southwest with a blend of 

“cringe, camp and c**t” that has 

seen them find their own niche 

on the drag king spectrum. 

“Diomede is almost 

a mythological being,” they 

say. “They’re gender-bending, 

they’re time-travelling, and they 

go through time and space on 

the ultimate quest for attention. 

They’re a bit of an antagonist. 

It’s fun to play that egotistical 

maniac, because it’s so different 

to actual life. I’m in drag and I get 

to own that facade.” 

Remarkably, Diomede only 

started their drag journey a year 


Carnivals 69 

“Diomede is almost a mythological 

being – they’re gender-bending, 

they’re time-travelling” 

St Pauls 

Carnival 

presents 

Back A Yard 

rom its towering 

speaker stacks 

and roti stalls, to 

its riddim-riding 

selectors, St 

Pauls Carnival has been 

a celebration of unity for Bristol’s 

Afro-Caribbean community since 

the first St Pauls Festival was held 

in 1968, founded by community 

activists who were part of the 

Bristol bus boycott. Although 

there won’t be a full procession 

this year (it is now bi-annual), 

St Pauls won’t be silent this 

summer: it’s returning to its 

original Back A Yard format. 

Photo: @charleywilliamsphoto 

“Cringe, camp 

and c**t” 

Bath’s attention-seeking 

and award-winning 

Diomede (above) brings 

a fresh drag style to 

Bristol Pride Day; an 

event that should look 

a lot like this (left) 

ago after being inspired by the 

southwest’s drag scene. “I came 

to Bath for university in 2021 

and ended up going to shows 

like Slaughterhaus and Brizzle 

Boyz in Bristol, as well as WIG! 

and Pudding Club in Bath,” they 

say. “There is queer stuff here [in 

Bath], you just have to look for it.” 

With only a year’s worth of 

show experience under their 

belt, Diomede – who believes 

drag remains a “revolutionary 

act” – has already won a bagful 

of regional awards. “Now I’m 

doing Bristol Pride; never in my 

wildest dreams did I think I was 

ever going to be doing drag and 

getting paid for it.” 

Bristol Pride runs from June 29 

until July 14. nfld.io/brispride 

Back A Yard promises a carnival 

feel, only on a smaller, more 

intimate scale that centres the 

local community. But like so 

many outdoor events in the UK 

these days, sound systems are 

likely to be at the heart of things. 

Here’s Jake Stewart, whose 

Firmly Rooted Soundsystem was 

invited to play St Pauls Carnival 

last year, to give us the lowdown 

on this culture of sound. 

One word, or two? 

“When we talk about sound 

systems and soundsystem 

culture, they are two things. 

There’s the sound system, which 

is speaker boxes, amplifiers, 

cables, loud sound performance. 

And then you’ve got roots, 

dub and reggae music culture, 

which for me, is soundsystem 



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Carnivals 71 

Champion sound 

The 2023 St Pauls Carnival crowd edges closer to 

a bass-whomping speaker stack, while (right) Firmly 

Rooted Soundsystem and MC deliver their message 

– incorporating this massive 

cultural background, and the 

weight, essence and message.” 

Strength in numbers 

“It’s a whole ecosystem behind 

a system. The fans, the followers, 

the team, the MCs, the singers, 

the producers, the box boys… 

that is what it takes to operate.” 

The message 

“We have a thing in soundsystem 

culture called: word, sound and 

power… Every word you say is 

like casting a spell, and it has 

a weight to it. You’ve got to be 

conscious of them.” 

Appreciation, not appropriation 

“I have Jamaicans in my family 

through marriage, but I’m not 

from that lineage. And so I’m 

conscious about how I operate… 

Soundsystem comes from 

Jamaica and it’s important to 

maintain that because the longer 

it exists here, the more it gets 

diluted, like any Black music from 

the diaspora. White people have 

a way of ruining it. I got invited by 

Carnival [last year]… I always said 

I’d never do it unless I was invited. 

I don’t feel like it’s my place. St 

Pauls Carnival is a celebration of 

Jamaican people coming to the 

UK on the Windrush and settling 

here. It’s their day to celebrate 

their culture. I think it's important 

to stand under it, so I come from 

a place of cultural appreciation, 

which is bottom up.” 

First vibrations 

“I got tickets to Love Saves the 

Day [one year]. I ended up in 

front of this soundsystem – Aba 

Shanti-I – and felt the vibrations, 

and was ridiculously moved… 

The rawness of his performance 

and message – to me they were 

real and I resonated with it a lot.” 

Support St Pauls Carnival. 

stpaulscarnival.net/donate 

Special thanks to Bath Spa University students Jess Grundy, Emma Cox and Georgie Bell, who worked on this feature 



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Art & Design 

House of St John’s 

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78 It Happened Here 

Photo: Dennis Whylie 


It Happened Here 79 

If you can remember attending 

southwest club night Karanga, 

were you even at one? 

Founded by Ross Wilson and Tim Lucy in 

the spring of 1994 with the aim of bringing 

big-name house DJs to Bath, Karanga would 

regularly transform Bath Pavilion from 

a sleepy old venue used for antiques fairs 

and kids’ roller discos into a sweatbox 

rave. The night became one of the UK’s 

largest in the 1990s and early 2000s, and 

would often appear in Mixmag and on BBC 

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branched out across the southwest, taking 

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captured here, Creation in Bristol. 

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nfld.io/karanga 



80 My nearfield 

My nearfield 

Moses McKenzie 

The Bristol-raised author, whose second novel Fast by the Horns is set in 

St Pauls around the time of the 1980 riots, lets us into his Bristol 

I 

grew up in East [Easton], the area 

across the end of the M32. I went 

to primary school in Poles [St 

Pauls] though, and my mum used 

to work at a charity there. East 

and Poles, in many ways, are the 

extent of my Bristol. It was the 

happiest time. We were outside 

as much as possible. Ventures. 

Chelsea. Cage. They’re parks and 

playgrounds – places where we 

would spend our days, moving 

from one to the next upon word 

that there were more people 

elsewhere, better football and 

more chaos. 

East and Poles were bubbles 

of working-class Blackness. 

Diversity was limited to the 

multitude of experiences that 

can exist within those two ideas, 

those two realities. It was safe. 

Freeing. And now nostalgia 

colours any badness a soft pink. 

Redcliffe was interesting, a white 

working-class environment, 

becoming Somali. A similar 

relationship to drugs as East and 

Poles, but closer to the city and 

dominated by the church. And it 

was because of its relationship to 

the church that the school was 

so mixed – class-wise. St Mary 

Redcliffe was, like Bristol then, 

very segregated, but it worked, 

it ticked, and in my school year 

at least, each clique seems to 

have remained together. Redcliffe 

represented the outside world, 

East and Poles the in. 

The areas that have inspired 

my work are the areas I was in. 

They’ve shaped my worldview. 

[In terms of Fast by the Horns,] 

the collective memory precedes 

the period and lives on through 

the narratives we have about 

ourselves and the wider 

world. The anti-state narrative 

underwent a renaissance then, 

in the Black British 1980s, and 

inshallah it will again soon. 

The remnant of the emotion 

still exists; perhaps it’s more 

misguided now, turned inward as 

the dominant, racist, capitalist, 

patriarchal western society 

pushes us to become more and 

more individualistic and loveless. 

I remember everything [about 

St Pauls Carnival]. The system 

changing man’s heartbeat. 

Stealing what I could. Olders 

giving man money. The 

Blackness. The lack of curfew. 

The oneness of genre. Now they 

play EDM and enforce curfews. 

Fast by the Horns is out now, 

published by Wildfire 

“I remember everything about 

[St Pauls Carnival]. The system 

changing man’s heartbeat” 


My nearfield 81 

Photo: Gee Photography© 



82 Competition 

COMPETITION 

WIN two 

weekend passes 

to Forwards 

End your festival season with Bristol’s forward-thinking 

gathering on Clifton Downs 

Photos: Giulia Spadafora, Beth Whelan 

Forwards Festival is returning 

for another friendly knees-up 

on the Downs to match the 

lofty standards set when it 

debuted last summer. Spread 

across Saturday, August 31, 

and Sunday, September 1, the 

summer curtain-closer brings 

a lineup featuring Loyle Carner, 

LCD Soundsystem, Jessie Ware, 

Underworld, Four Tet and many 

more, together with a statusquo-shifting 

mindset. Already 

commended by A Greener Future 

for its sustainability efforts, and 

allied with EarthPercent, Forwards 

is a party with a conscience. 

And in an act of generosity, the 

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forwardsbristol.co.uk 

HOW TO 

ENTER 

For a chance 

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on July 3 


SUMmER 

Cannibal Ox 

Wed 5 Jun • Lantern Hall 

Ngaio (Live) 

Thu 6 Jun • Weston Stage 

Masicka & Malie Donn + guests 

Fri 21 Jun • Beacon Hall 

Dom Flemons 

Tue 25 Jun • Lantern Hall 

Richard Hawley 

Thu 6 Jun • Beacon Hall 

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Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 

with Kirill Karabits 

Fri 7 Jun • Beacon Hall 

Bernard Butler 

Sat 8 Jun • Lantern Hall 

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Sun 9 Jun • Lantern Hall 

Lubomyr Melnyk 

Fri 14 Jun • Lantern Hall 

Bat for Lashes 

Wed 19 Jun • Beacon Hall 

Windrush – The Journey 

Thu 20 - Sat 22 Jun • Lantern Hall 

Kara Jackson 

Wed 26 Jun • Lantern Hall 

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Sat 29 Jun • Lantern Hall 

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Mon 1 Jul • Beacon Hall 

Alogte Oho and his Sounds of Joy 

Thu 4 Jul • Lantern Hall 

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Fri 26 Jul • Beacon Hall 

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