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BBC Somerset

‘Santa O’Clock’ and ‘first padel championships’

7 December 2025

4. Somerset

Rise Productions A grotto scene with a very large cuckoo-type clock and Santa and an elf standing by with children taking part and watching. There is a large Christmas tree to the right and a sign saying 'Santa O'Clock' in red and white

Christmas celebrations have been taking place across the West Country as we officially enter December.

Festive events have been staged across the county, with people of all ages enjoying seasonal fun.

But it is not all about Christmas – the area also played host to the inaugural padel championships.

Here is a selection of pictures from the region in our weekly round-up.

Bristol

Rise Productions A scene from a magical grotto, with several clocks of different shapes and sizes, including a cuckoo clock, and a large model of an owl swooping over the landscape of snowy trees

Ho Ho Ho: Santa O’Clock is the first grotto the Cabot Circus shopping centre is hosting since 2019.

The immersive experience invites families into a whimsical North Pole world.

Grand Appeal: Bristol Children’s Hospital has a special Gromit Unleashed-themed festive display with two new Norbot sculptures, Twinkle and Sugar and Spice, which have been specially-designed for the season.

Two sportswomen and two sportsmen are standing on a padel court in a midshot, smiling to camera and each holding a padel racket

Going for gold: The first LTA Padel National Championships is taking place at the Rocket Padel Bristol venue in St Anne’s this weekend. The event is running until Sunday and features Britain’s top junior, open, and senior players competing for national titles.

Padel is a racquet sport that uses the same scoring conventions as lawn tennis but is played on courts around a third smaller.

The game is mainly played in the doubles format, with players using solid racquets with no strings. The courts are enclosed and, like in squash, players can bounce the ball off the walls.

Del Hickey A group of people all dressed as Santa drive in procession on motorbikes. Many of the bikes, especially the one at the front, are covered in tinsel and other festive decorations.

Santas on a Bike: Hundreds of Santas on motorbikes roared through Bristol on Saturday for the annual fundraiser in support of Children’s Hospice South West.

Tens of thousands of pounds are raised for the charity each year.

Gloucestershire

BBC Weather Watchers/Space Walker A misty, golden morning scene over valleys. A church spire and browning trees can be sticking out of the layer of cloud.

Misty mornings: There’s been some freezing starts this week, with many of us waking up to a blanket of mist.

This golden panorama was snapped by Space Walker, a BBC Weather Watcher, looking towards Painswick from Edge.

Gloucester BID Two women, with kitchen overalls on, are looking through an empty cardboard picture frame which says 'We're supporting Small Business Saturday' on the frame. They are standing in a restaurant with a large indoor green plant in the background

Shop ’til you drop: The Gloucester Business Improvement District joined the nationwide Small Business Saturday to encourage shoppers to support independent traders and restaurateurs.

Steve Green A light spectacle, with an arch, two large baubles and two bushes, drapped in orange lights and the wall of a stately home lit up with pink light in the background

Dazzling: Spectacle of Light has sprinkled its magic over Sudeley Castle & Gardens, bringing this year’s enchanting adventure to life: Camelot.

The trail, which tells the Arthurian tale, runs until 30 December

BiGDUG Two Gloucester Rugby players wearing official merchandise, with one wearing a Father Christmas hat, sit on yellow chairs against a navy painted wall. They are smiling and holding children's books as they read them. There is a decorated Christmas tree next to them.

Christmas tales: Gloucester Rugby players Afolabi (Afo) Fasogbon and Jack Clement stopped by BiGDUG in Gloucester on Monday, where the building has been turned into what has thought to be the UK’s biggest advent calendar.

Two windows open each day for 12 days and, as part of the celebration, the players read a story to children in partnership with Read With Me, a charity helping children across Gloucestershire learn how to read.

Wiltshire

Swindon Borough Council Small elf with a cup of tea next to an older woman with mayoral chains holding a cup of tea. A Christmas tree is between them

Elf antics: Swindon Borough Council has a special visitor this December – Hansel the Elf – fresh from the North Pole.

To begin his festive duties, Hansel had a chat with Swindon mayor Fay Howard over tea.

Tom Anders A large stately home with a square pond in front of it. It is a wintery setting with a blue sky behind the home.

Touch of frost: Winter has settled upon Longleat House this week. It comes as a new access card has been launched to improve accessibility for visitors with disabilities.

Salisbury Sea Cadets Six children holding cards with clothes pegs attached to sweets

Festive cheer: Salisbury’s Junior Sea Cadets have made their own advent calendars, making a creative use of clothes-pegs.

Swindon Borough Council Young people in casual clothes stood in front of a stately home

Class acts: Young people from Lydiard Park Academy have enjoyed a tour of Lydiard House amid plans to allow sixth-form students to study at the stately home.

Sounds Better CIC A church setting with people singing with Christmas jumpers on

Sounds good: Community group Sounds Better CIC performed at St Thomas’s Church’s annual Christmas Tree Festival in Salisbury this week – and learned British Sign Language for a very special performance of Silent Night.

Somerset

Getty A full moon, partially covered by dark cloud, shining with a yellow tinge

Night-time splendour: A full moon rose on Thursday in Glastonbury, the last of a trio of supermoons, so called when the moon is closest to the Earth – also known as the Cold Moon as it occurs nearest to the winter solstice.