Somerset in Pictures: Spring scenes, sporting success and sheep
Flocking together: These sheep were photographed by Weather Watcher Nutkin in Priddy.
Ready, set, go! A group of pupils from Taunton Prep School won a bronze medal at the ESAA Cross Country Cup Final in Leeds, with one pupil, George, finishing 4th in the whole country.
Mrs Christmas: Maureen Chandler, also known as Mrs Christmas, has been making Christmas happen for many Bridgwater families for over 50 years. She was recently awarded special recognition and a cash prize for her kindness and community spirit.
Grand opening: A new modern 16-bed intensive care unit at the Royal United Hospital Bath welcomed its first patients. Bath Rugby Player Tom Dunn joined staff to celebrate the opening.
Dropping in: Gordano School welcomed Sadik Al-Hassan, MP for North Somerset, to speak with students from a range of SEND backgrounds and listen to their personal experiences.
Blossoming: Trees with their buds blooming are a familiar sight across Somerset this week, with weather watcher Kat Napper taking this picture.
A momentous day: Iris Jefferies, who was a decoder in Bath during World War Two, celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Somerset in Pictures: Weston Wallz, Clevedon sunsets and VJ Day
Soaring temperatures returned to the county this week, meaning its photographers and tourist attractions were busy Somerset's podiatry team hailed a new trial which has reduced waiting times were also celebrations for A-Level students and those marking the 80th anniversary of VJ this and more is in our weekly picture round-up. Smile: Somerset cricketer Tom Lammonby met fans following the Men's Metro Bank One Day Cup match against Lancashire in Taunton. Setting sun: As temperatures stayed high, visitors to Clevedon were treated to this beautiful sunset on Tuesday. Street art: Weston-super-Mare has once again being given a colourful touch thanks to the annual Weston Wallz festival, run by Upfest. Multiple new murals are now visible across the town. Scorching sun: This week's heatwave saw temperatures exceed 30C (86F) in parts of the UK, making it warm work to climb up on Glastonbury Tor. Podiatry success: Staff from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust celebrated a huge reduction in waiting times for podiatric care. It follows a ten-month trial which aimed to optimise treatment plans, speed up care and identify patients who could benefit from surgery at an earlier point in their care. Training talent: The University of Bath hosted four under-18 squads from the English Football League (EFL) - including this one from Grimsby took part in a week-long training programme to help them prepare for the new season. Break a leg: The Olivier Award-winning theatre company Little Bulb will return to Weston-super-Mare's Winter Gardens for a special event next month. Celebrating: Another team of NHS staff in Somerset have also been celebrating this week, this time it's those who care for patients with endometriosis. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been reaccredited as a nationally recognised Endometriosis Centre for the second year running. VJ Day: Eighty years ago on 15 August, World War Two was officially brought to an end with Japan's were held in Weston-super-Mare as veterans and members of the public gathered to hear wartime songs by Blitz Time Sally. Results day: Students across the West had a day of "nervous excitement" as they collected their A-level Fay, a Wellsway School student, said she had secured the necessary grades to study medicine at Cambridge in October. "I'm really, really pleased," she said.
BBC News
26-07-2025
- BBC News
Somerset in Pictures: Sacred pilgrimage and seaside views
With summer in full swing and school out for another year, many of us have our thoughts turned to the great the cricket pitch to the top of Glastonbury Tor, people across Somerset have been getting out and about to make the most of the county in full bloom. Here is a look at some of the best pictures from across the area this week. Pilgrimage of light: People carried lanterns up to Glastonbury Tor, during the Sacred Magdalene Festival, which marks the feast day of St Mary Magdelene. Spotted: Weather Watcher Malty Von Hop sent in this tranquil shot of sheep grazing amongst fruit trees in an orchard in Langport, Somerset. Happy faces: Craig Overton (second from the right) of Somerset was seen celebrating the wicket of Alex Lees of Durham for his fifth wicket during Day One of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match at The Cooper Associates County Ground. Horsing around: Avon and Somerset Police shared this snap of Max, their newest police horse in training, on social media to a huge response. A seagull's view: This beautiful view over Weston-super-Mare's beach was captured by BBC Weather Watcher Gary 'the Monkey'. Skydiver: Brian Standring, 86, from Wellington man has been recognised in Parliament for his charity work. He recently completed his fourth skydive to raise funds for Alzheimer's Society. Champions return: Bath Rugby's players have been back putting in the hard yards as pre-season training began at Farleigh House.
BBC News
25-07-2025
- BBC News
Too hot for Santa as Lapland buckles under record heatwave
"Make sure the reindeer have plenty of water - and don't forget to drink a glass every hour too," Santa reminds a team of elves busy making presents for next Christmas as Lapland swelters in a record not every day that Father Christmas finds himself briefing his elves about the hazards of sunstroke, but this summer northern Finland has seen temperatures hover around 30C for days on end. As for Santa, he will be staying indoors most of the day - his bright red costume trimmed with fur is very warm. "I'm only going out for a swim in the lake in the forest after 18:00, when the weather has started to cool off," he says. While Santa's workshop in the city of Rovaniemi is adapting with cheerful resilience, the unusually warm temperatures in the Arctic are a serious matter – and scientists are pointing at climate change as the an unusually cold and rainy spring and early summer, the whole of Finland – including the far north of Lapland, 500km (310 miles) above the Arctic Circle – suddenly became caught up in a continuous spell of hot 25 July, the heatwave in Rovaniemi will have lasted 15 days. In Finland a heatwave is defined as a period of at least three consecutive days where the daily maximum temperature exceeds Meteorological Institute's meteorologist Jaakko Savela explains that in Lapland, where temperatures over 30C are extremely rare, heatwaves like the current one are exceptional."The last time Finnish Lapland had a similarly long heatwave was in 1972," Savela says. But even that only lasted 12 to 14 days, depending on the exact location. "That record has now been broken."It's not just Rovaniemi that's been gripped by scorching temperatures. Several other weather stations across Lapland have registered their longest ever heatwaves since records highest temperature of the heatwave, 31.7C, was measured at two locations, Ylitornio and Sodankylä, earlier this week. That's about 10C above the seasonal average for Lapland. The heatwave has prompted renewed concern about the accelerating pace of climate change in the Arctic, which is warming four to five times faster than the rest of the notes that this particular, long heatwave was not directly caused by climate change. However, he says, "Climate change has had an impact: without it, temperatures over the last two weeks would have been lower".Prof Jeff Weller, University of the Arctic Research Chair at the University of Oulu, is climate change? A really simple guideHeatwaves and extreme weather events in summer and winter alike have become so frequent that they can only have been caused by fundamental changes to the climate system."All over the world, every day, climate change is manifested in extreme heat and extreme precipitation events," says Prof Weller. "The fingerprint of climate change is upon us."Heatwaves are becoming more common due to human-caused climate change, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate hot weather will happen more often – and become even more intense – as the planet continues to warm, it has said. The extreme heat is also affecting Lapland's famed reindeer. Celebrated worldwide as Santa's sleigh-pullers at Christmas, reindeer here roam freely across forests and fells. But as they're hounded by mosquitoes – which thrive in hot weather – reindeer are now fleeing to roads and villages in search of relief."For reindeer the only option would be to go to higher, windier elevations but in Finnish Lapland the highest elevation is only about 1,000m (3,300 ft)," says Prof adds that because more extreme and longer heatwaves will occur more frequently in the Arctic in the future, "reindeer herders might end up having to build big barns to provide shade for their animals".It's not just Santa and his reindeer who are struggling. Lapland is traditionally known as a cool tourist destination – but this year, visitors are puzzled."It's super-hot here – 30C is killing me. I came to escape the heat," says Silvia, a tourist from Prague visiting Santa's holiday village in Rovaniemi. "I expected much colder weather and packed the wrong clothes. I only have one short-sleeve t-shirt with me – I've been wearing it every day." It doesn't help that days in Rovaniemi are currently 20 hours a day, so the sun is still shining until well after 23:00 – keeping temperatures up for down in a shady patch in Santa Park is Adita from London, who expected to find temperatures under 20C here. "I can barely even step outside the shade, I feel like I'm on fire when I do," she says."Something similar is happening in the UK but I'm very surprised to see this at the Arctic Circle," she says. "Ice and snow is so integral to this amusement park and the whole of Lapland."Elina, an elf working in Santa's post office, also worries about the future of Lapland's winters: "I'm wondering if heatwaves are now the new normal."For Santa, there is the added problem of having to wear his heavy costume every day of the year. At the moment he only goes outdoors in the evenings once the air starts cooling down, otherwise he risks getting heatstroke in just 10 minutes."Of course a hot summer can be very nice for some but I prefer cold and snow," he says. "Winter is better."
