PLEASE NOTE START TIME – PROCESSION 6 p.m.
ANY VEHICLES ON THE CARNIVAL ROUTE ON CARNIVAL DAY WILL BE TOWED AWAY
Information below refers to 2025 and for guidance only.
Due to operational reasons we regret that the car park at Bridgwater Hospital will not be available for carnival-goers on parade day. Alternative parking nearby is at Polden Bower School, from 2.30pm, and at UCS Bridgwater College from 10.30am, where there are plenty of spaces. Carnival charity volunteers will be available in both car parks to collect parking fees which are £10 per car, £20 per minibus.
If you intend to come to our carnival, please bear in mind roads in the town start closing at 1pm. After this time access to the town is likely to be congested, particularly from both J23 & J24 of the M5 so please come early. There is a full programme of entertainment in the town centre from 10.30am. Download our Carnival Companion App for full details of where to park and a what’s on where guide for the day of entertainment.
Park & Ride & Car Parks
Fee: Cars £17, Minibuses £30
Carnival Park and Ride schemes at J23 and J24 will be fully operational from 2pm until 11.30pm. The car parks close at midnight.
M5 - Junction 23
Charity: Bridgwater Operatic Society
M5 - Junction 24
Charity: Cancer Research UK
£17 per car including fare for all passengers. Mini-Buses £30
Car Parking
The ten Official Bridgwater Carnival town car parks are all signposted and close at midnight. No overnight parking is available. The largest car park is at St Matthew’s Field, close to the carnival route. All Carnival car parks are manned by volunteer representing charities and community organisations authorised by Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee which takes no responsibility for any loss sustained. Many of these car parks have parking bays for blue badge holders on a first come first used basis.
Council Car Parks will be operational at Market St and Barclay St.
Cars
Minibuses
Warning: There have been past incidents when cars parked on private land have been clamped with release fees running to hundreds of pounds. Bridgwater Carnival has no control over this practice and cannot accept any liability.
Why not take the hassle out of driving and come by coach, many coach firms now run trips to Bridgwater Carnival. See our Coach Trips page.
Coach Parking Information 2025
A coach pack containing a short promotional DVD and flyers is available for coach companies from Mandy Trunks on request.
We have allocated some parking spaces within the town centre for coaches on a first come first served basis, spaces are limited; (see application form for details), making it far easier to drop off and pick up your passengers. Should you wish to pre-book a coach you can download an application form by clicking on the link below and returning it with the appropriate payment or you can pay via our online shop, please put in the note fields the number of vehicles and number of seats together with any other relevant information. Online Shop.
(2025 Prices) The parking charge if available for those that arrive on the day without pre-booking will be an extra £5 per coach / minibus (maximum 16 seats), if you pre-book £65 – £80 for a coach and £50 – £65 for a mini bus depending on location and your space is reserved, enquiries for 2025 are already being received so if you want a particular location don’t delay, book today.
The details of how we can best accommodate coaches has now been agreed with the Police, see “Location” link for a map of Bridgwater. Email contact for coach parking only is Mandy Trunks.
Disabled Access – Specific parking for disabled drivers is limited, although there are almost 100 spaces in the council car parks. There is no official disabled parking on the carnival procession route, but there are several large car parks within a few minutes’ walk of the procession route. If you have booked grandstand seats there are sizeable car parks within a 10-minute walk from the location of the grandstands and toilets nearby, see map below.
If you intend watching from the roadside, then anywhere on the two- mile route is accessible to wheelchair users. We have introduced a dedicated viewing area on the procession route for wheelchair users at Northgate Yard, Mount Street, Bridgwater, Postcode TA6 3FQ. Spaces are limited and to book a reservation or for further information please email Disabled Viewing.
Further information on Bridgwater Carnival can be obtained by ringing the Carnival Centre on 01278 428220.
Traffic Details
The main Carnival procession will commence at 6.00 p.m. Many roads into the town will be closed to traffic from 4 p.m. some earlier for the grandstands see above. The procession will take approximately two hours to pass any given point. We usually attract around 100+ entries of all descriptions.
Finally many thanks for supporting Bridgwater Carnival and please remember the carnival raises many thousands of pounds for charity via your donations so please help us to smash last years total by giving as much as you can to support our many worthy causes.
Any queries concerning traffic management should be directed to our Traffic Management Director, Chris Mockridge.
Enjoy the show!
